A major gas leak at the GAIL plant in Mandideep, near Bhopal, triggered panic late Tuesday night, prompting an extensive emergency response and the evacuation of nearby residential and industrial areas. Authorities swiftly sealed off a one-kilometer radius around the facility by erecting barricades and restricting movement to prevent any potential hazard.
The leak, which was reported around midnight, occurred near the Government Civil Hospital in Mandideep and led to a significant deployment of firefighters from the Mandideep Municipality, along with Satlapur and Mandideep police, Home Guards, and support teams. After more than 10 hours of coordinated effort, the fire safety team and GAIL personnel managed to fully contain the leak by 10 AM on Wednesday.
The incident caused significant disruption within the plant and surrounding areas. As a precautionary measure, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were also deployed.
While reassuring the public, GAIL’s Project Manager, D. Dongre, stated that the situation had been brought under control and the leak posed no further threat to the local population. He emphasized that there was no need to shut schools or conduct additional evacuations beyond the already secured perimeter. A safety audit team from GAIL's Jaipur office arrived on-site to investigate the incident and assess existing safety protocols.
Bhopal Collector Arun Vishwakarma, accompanied by SDM Chandrashekhar Srivastava, SDPO Sheela Surana, and Naib Tehsildar Nilesh Sarvate, conducted an inspection at the site. They confirmed that the area had been sanitized and stabilized. The Collector also announced plans for a comprehensive safety audit and the establishment of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent similar incidents in the future.
SP Pankaj Pandey added that a detailed safety review would be carried out to determine the exact cause of the leak and ensure preventive mechanisms are in place.
The GAIL facility in Mandideep plays a critical role in converting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) into Piped Natural Gas (PNG) for domestic, commercial, and industrial use, with storage capacities of 750 SCM (domestic), 1,600 SCM (commercial), and 7,500 SCM (industrial).
This is not the first such incident at the facility. Two years ago, a leak involving mercaptan liquid mixed with CNG led to a strong chemical odor spreading up to half a kilometer away, causing eye irritation, nausea, and dizziness among residents in Satlapur. That event raised serious concerns about safety standards, and authorities are now under renewed pressure to ensure stringent safety protocols are enforced to prevent recurrence.
Investigations into the latest leak are ongoing, with enhanced security and monitoring measures already being implemented around the plant.