OLD GOA
Suspecting that the chlorine gas cylinders could have been stolen or could have been brought to use for anti-social activities, the Merces locals have petitioned the Old Goa police demanding probe into the origin of the cylinders at the scrapyard where recently gas leak left over 23 hospitalised and several gasping for breath.
In this connection, the Merces locals submitted a memorandum to PI Anant Gaonkar, holding additional charge of Old Goa police station, on Wednesday.
In the memorandum, the locals have urged that proper investigation has to be carried out to uncover from where the chlorine gas cylinders originated.
Later speaking to reporters, Tanoj Adwalpalkar informed that they refuse to accept the version that the cylinders were brought from a defence establishment.
“It is a well known fact that any defence establishment follows procedure before disposing off any item. And there is no possibility that such hazardous item would be given to a scrapyard owner by a defence establishment,” Adwalpalkar said.
“Therefore, we have submitted a memorandum to the Old Goa police station demanding that the matter has to be investigated thoroughly to find out whether the cylinders were stolen or they were brought for anti-social activities,” Adwalpalkar opined.
Others who formed part of the delegation included St Cruz Congress block president John Nazareth, Edwin Vaz, Viren Verekar, Gurudas Bandodkar and others.
Meanwhile, Nazareth informed that he has sought information from the Merces panchayat pertaining to the number of scrapyards operating in the village and whether these have valid licences, apart from seeking various other queries.
“After the information is made available, we are going to take further necessary action, including seeking legal recourse,” Nazareth added.
