Meanwhile, they have given BCCL management an ultimatum of two days; if no concrete solution is found, activities of all outsourcing companies in the vicinity will be halted.

In between, a special team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached from Ranchi on Sunday and assessed the affected area. The 32-member team also measured the intensity of the gas leak. NDRF officials said that the situation is very dangerous and frightening. According to them, normally, if the amount of carbon monoxide gas in the air exceeds 50 ppm, the situation is considered dangerous. However, in Rajput Basti, it was found to be up to 1680 ppm.

On Saturday night, seventy people went to the relief camp set up by BCCL and an outsourcing company for 500 affected people and had their food, but no one stayed there.

Notably, the gas leak was first reported on Wednesday in Rajput Basti, where two women died and more than two dozen residents, mostly women and children, were admitted to BCCL’s Kustore Regional Hospital and Central Hospital, Dhanbad.

The impact of the gas is being felt in the Rajput Basti, Masjid Mohalla, and Officers Colony areas of Kenduadih, home to a population of approximately 10,000. The persistent stench and gas leakage have made life extremely difficult for the residents.