Residents asked to vacate homes for eight hours

Even as multiple gas leaks from Dombivali’s Probace Enterprises, which occurred during National Disaster Response Force’s (NDRF) on-field operations on Friday, caused panic among locals, the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) issued notice to residents of surrounding areas to vacate their homes for about eight hours.

Residents were warned that owing to NDRF clearing debris from a 15-foot-deep crater caused by the impact of the blast, chances of more gas leakages and explosions were high. Meanwhile, residents are still afraid as several buildings may have developed deep cracks during Thursday’s explosion.

Hemlata Gupta, who lives at Mohan Plaza, a residential complex near where the blast occurred, said, “We were unable to sleep all of Thursday night, fearing another explosion where we might have to vacate the house in a hurry. But what we are most scared of now is the structural safety of our building. It has developed many cracks after Thursday.”

Speaking to The Asian Age, additional municipal commissioner of KDMC, Sanjay Gharat, said, “The problem with the area is that maintenance of residential buildings is the MIDC’s responsibility as it is an industrial area under the organisation's gambit. The KDMC has ultimate responsibility towards all local residents and if anyone approaches us. we will provide men to conduct structural audits of the building.”

Officials from MIDC were unavailable for comment. Meanwhile, district administration officials, who have set up camp outside the blast site said, “We have received many complaints from angry industrialists in the nearby area, because we issued a notice asking people to vacate buildings. It is for the workers’ safety.”

An industrialist owning a factory right next to Probace, who did not wish to be named, said, “I am running heavy losses as no one has turned up for work today. The administration must not create a scare among the crowd that something is wrong.”

Meanwhile, residents are struggling to bring life back to normal, as random crowds throng the area to get a good look at the blast remains. Resident Roopa Jaiswal said, “It is impossible to navigate as everyone from faraway places is just waiting at the site. There was a large crowd there even during the nighttime.”