AGARTALA, June 9 (TIWN): Leakage from a gas pipe of PNG (Piped line Natural Gas) on Monday morning at Nagerjala near the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Statue triggered panic in the area among the public.Locals said that they were getting the pungent smell of cooking gas which had invaded in to area for more than an hour, but they are not able to identify, from where the gas was leaking in the area.Later identifying the leakage from a gas pipe of PNG (Piped line Natural Gas) near the statue, the localities immediately informed the head office of TNGCL (Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited) which is solely responsible for the supply of piped natural gas to the domestic, commercial & industrial consumers in and around Agartala.Getting alarm the officials of TNGCL, along with the police personnel of A.D. Police Station, fire Service crew from Tripura Fire Service reached the spot immediately and brought the area under barricade and evacuated the crowd for the safety of the people.Leakage of gas from a pipeline into a living area or any other area where the gas should not be present in open is dangerous, because natural gas may get explode when exposed to flame or spark and this situation can turn out to be very hazardous for the general public.Following the incident huge crowd gathered Nagerjala. Though the police and fire tenders reached the spot, the smell gradually spreaded in the entire area generating serious panic among the locals in the area.

 In addition to causing fire and explosion hazards, leaking flammable gases can kill vegetation, including large trees, and releases powerful greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, local people added..

Preliminary inquiries have revealed that, as a part of primary safety measure the main line of the particular PNG gas line was disconnected in the beginning, later the gas line connecting to the Battala cremation ground was also disconnected as this particular gas line is interlinked and at any moment any accident can take place.   

After several attempts the situation was brought under control by the assigned workers, however further repairing of the PNG gas line is under construction.