Chlorine gas leak in Dehradun, residents evacuated amid breathing issues

An incident of chlorine gas leak in the Jhanjra area of Prem Nagar police station in Dehradun, Uttarakhand was reported on Tuesday morning, triggering panic among residents as they complained of breathing difficulties. Officials said the residents of the area have been evacuated and taken to a safe place.

According to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Dehradun Ajay Singh the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other security forces have rushed to the spot upon receiving information regarding the incident.

“On receiving information about people facing difficulty in breathing due to leakage in the chlorine cylinder kept in the empty plot in the Jhanjra area of Prem Nagar police station in Dehradun, Police, NDRF, SDRF, and fire team reached the spot and are taking action for safe disposal,” Singh said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

According to Sahaspur MLA Sahdev Singh Pundir, seven cylinders of chlorine were kept at an empty plot in the area for quite some time. “There was a leakage and it could have turned into a big disaster, however, due to the coordinated efforts of the authorities the situation was managed,” he told ANI.

There are no reports of casualties, the police said.

Further details are awaited.

A similar incident took place in 2017 when over 15 people were hospitalised after chlorine gas leaked from the water supply center of Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan (UJS).