Bescom told to pay GAIL victims

The state government on Tuesday directed Bescom and the concerned contractor to bear the cost of damages and reimburse the medical expenses of the four children who were injured after a GAIL LPG pipeline exploded in Muneshwara Layout near Parappana Agrahara on Tuesday evening.

A panic situation prevailed on Tuesday after the Bescom contractor dug into the LPG pipeline. Soon after, the pipeline exploded causing severe damages to five houses, injuring four children.

The chief secretary held a meeting with senior GAIL officials along with other civic agencies and directed Bescom and the contractor to pay for the damage.

Preliminary investigation revealed, the Bescom contractor carried out horizontal directional drilling close to the GAIL pipeline without due diligence. The contractor ignored the GAIL signage indicating the presence of the pipeline. Without intimating GAIL, the contractor went ahead with the work in a case of sheer negligence.

Another explosion

Further investigations revealed there was another explosion at the same time where the BWSSB was digging up a manhole 3 km away from the GAIL pipeline explosion site. The BWSSB also damaged the GAIL pipeline after they used earth movers for the work.