The Eastern Voice correspondent
(Kumari Akanksha )
Mumbai. After a boundary wall collapsed at the HPCL Patalganga plant in Maharashtra, heavy monsoon floods swept around 3,000 LPG cylinders, including both empty and fully filled units, into the fast-flowing Patalganga River and Kharpada Creek. Emergency teams and HPCL officials have recovered around 1,000 floating cylinders so far, but the situation remains a major safety concern.
Videos shared on social media show local residents entering the floodwaters to collect the floating cylinders for personal use. Following this, Raigad District Collector Kishan Javle issued an urgent public safety warning, asking people not to keep these cylinders.
Officials warned that keeping these flood-damaged cylinders inside homes is extremely dangerous. Damaged by the wall collapse and river debris, their highly pressurized safety valves may have been affected, creating a serious risk of gas leaks or explosions.
The district administration has asked anyone who recovered a cylinder to immediately hand it over to the local police, the Tehsildar’s office, or the nearest HPCL dealer. Fishermen and people living in coastal villages have also been requested to report any cylinders found trapped in downstream mangroves.
