Gas supply disrupted in Thane city, Kalwa after lines damaged

THANE: Thousands of families in the lake city and Kalwa suffered massive inconvenience on Sunday after gas supply to their homes was disrupted after a civic contractor laying water pipes accidentally ploughed into a Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) line, thereby damaging it.
The supply was restored nearly three hours later, said a MGL spokesperson. The incident occured around 11:30am near the Kharegaon toll naka along the Mumbai-Nashik highway in Thane where the water supply department was working on laying a new pipleline.
A huge volume of gas leaked through the pipe which went unnoticed until a heap of burning garbage nearby led to a huge flare. Fire and rescue officials were alerted and the blaze was controlled within a few minutes.
Fire officials said they are investigating if there was a fault on part of the contractor while excavating and whether appropriate permissions were taken before taking up the work. -- Manoj Badgeri