Repair work: Two injured in gas leak blast

Gas explosion gutted ground floor of a girls’ hostel on 7th Road in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI:

A gas explosion gutted the ground floor of a girls’ hostel on 7th Road in Rawalpindi. The explosion occurred as repair work was being carried out on a damaged gas pipeline near the building.

The blast also caused minor wounds to two labourers working on the pipeline.

Khairul Amaan and Qadeer had reportedly been engaged by Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL) to repair the line, which had been damaged in a previous explosion during the Eid holidays.

The blast was so powerful that it badly damaged the ground portion and gate of the hostel while damaging the belongings of students and the administration of Amina Hostel.

Shabbir Ahmad, a technician at the hostel, said that underground lines were very old and leaks were commonplace. He said local residents often lodge complaints with the SNGPL authorities but in vain.

He said that two people had also been injured in another blast the day before.

Ahmad said that no one was in the hostel at the time of the blast, which damaged six rooms on the ground floor.

Fatima Noor, a student at Fatima Jinnah Women University, said students from other cities have no option but to live in private hostels as government institutions either lack capacity or the entire facility.

Rawalpindi Girls Hostels’ Association Senior Vice Chairman Raja Khurram Zamaan said that there was no government office where they could register their hostels or sett a minimum criteria for operating hostels.

He said that there was  no government office where they could register private hostels to set a minimum criterion for all hostels. “There are many loopholes in private hostels
which need to be plugged with the government’s help,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2014.