Manan Mandokhail, Syed Ali Shah:
In Quetta, gas leakages incidents have claimed 16 lives including four children and a woman in a week. Dozens of people were unconscious as rooms were filled with gas in various parts of the city. Gas load shedding coupled with low gas pressure has compounded the problems of consumers in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan.
Quetta, Ziarat, Kalat and other parts of Balochistan are in the grip of chilly weather for the last month.
Five lives lost in one day
At least five people including four children and a police sub-inspector were killed during two separate incidents of gas leakages in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province on Wednesday morning. Police sources said four children of a family died inside a mud-walled house after the gas leakage triggered an explosion in the Killi Badezai area of Kharotabad Quetta.
Two women were also injured in the gas blast that was triggered by the gas leakage in the house. The injured women were rushed to the burn unit of the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital (BMCH) for medical treatment. Senior doctors reached the burn wart to make sure of timely medical treatment for the injured by the blast.
Children were sleeping in their room when the blast was triggered by the leakage
Police sources said the hapless children along with their mothers were sleeping inside the mud-walled house when the room filled with gas. “Gas load shedding caused the blast inside the house”, Abdullah Khan, one of the relatives of the victims told Daily Quetta Voice. He said the family had left the gas heater on and there was a sudden gas load shedding and the family was asleep when the gas supply came back. This caused the incident, he narrated.
In another incident, a police sub-inspector Shabir Gujar died after his room was filled with gas in the Pod Gali Chowk area of Quetta. Police sources said that the victim was sleeping and the room was filled with gas. The sub-inspector was currently serving in the Shalkot Police Station Quetta.
SSGC did not respond to CM Secretariat Balochistan
Chief Minister Balochistan, Mir Quddus Bizenjo took a notice of the increasing incidents of gas explosions in Quetta. The CM Secretariat to speak to the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), but there was no response, an official handout issued here on Wednesday evening said. The CM has demanded of the federal government to take notice of the attitude and performance of the company in Balochistan, the statement concluded.
