Published Nov 19, 2022 | 2:07 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 19, 2022 | 4:37 PM
A girl was taken to hospital during the Hyderabad gas leak on 18 November. (Screengrab)
What made 51 students of a Hyderabad college fall ill on Friday, 18 November?
While students and parents held a gas leak from the college’s first-floor chemistry lab responsible, the police and college authorities pointed at a now-cleared garbage dump behind the institution.
As many as 51 students of Kasturba Gandhi Degree and PG College for Women in Mareddpally were rushed to Geetha Nursing Home in Secunderabad after a stench that pervaded the college made them vomit. Some, reportedly, even fainted.
It was earlier reported that a chemical gas leak had led to the incident.
As many as 29 girls were still in the hospital on Saturday, 19 November, morning. “The girls are out of danger. They will be in the hospital till they recover completely,” a hospital staff told South First, adding that several of them were likely to be discharged by evening.
Deputy Commissioner of Hyderabad City Police (North zone) Chandana Deepti dismissed the students’ version that held a gas leak from the lab responsible for the incident.
“The Clues (Crime Laboratory Ultimate Evidence System) team has ascertained that the foul smell emanated while clearing garbage was the reason. It released toxic gas,” she told South First.
A few parents, who spoke to South First on the condition of anonymity, junked the police version. They pointed out that those who had cleared the trash had not fallen ill.
“What about the people walking on the streets? Why didn’t they take ill,” they asked.
A girl still in the hospital said she was with other students on the second floor of the college’s main building when the stench spread. “It seemed to be originating from the first floor, not outside,” she said, requesting anonymity.
Students and faculty members were in the lab till lunch break, she further said.
The student added that the lab still used some chemicals that were well past their 2020 expiry date. Her claim, however, could not be independently verified.
The college authorities, meanwhile, said the lab was not conducting any experiment when the incident occurred. The institution also said that it had not stocked any harmful chemicals that would create such a situation.
The administration added that the college had not stocked any harmful chemicals that would cause such an incident.
“The foul smell was the garbage dump yard behind the college. Somebody threw something into it,” a senior official of the college told South First on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that the administration had thoroughly checked the labs, cylinders and other possible sources but did not find any leak.
“No lab was operational at the time of the incident. There were no signs of gas leaks from the classrooms on the ground floor or where the labs are located,” the official added.
Ashvin Margam, vice-president of the All India Industrial Exhibition Society that manages the college, also blamed the trash dump.
The college declared a holiday on Saturday, 19 November, after the incident.
Garbage dumps remaining for a long period could produce gases. Methane, a non-toxic but inflammable gas is one of them.
Such dumps could also produce, in small amounts, toxic gases, such as benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylenes. Prominent among the fumes from garbage dumps is hydrogen sulfide, also known as sewer or swamp gas.
It carried the odour of rotten eggs. Exposure to hydrogen chloride could cause nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, irritability, poor memory, and dizziness if the concentration is up to 20 parts per million (ppm).
If the concentration is 100 ppm or above, it could lead to olfactory fatigue (loss of smell) and could turn fatal as the concentration increases.
