Kasturba college officials want dump yard shifted to avoid chemical emission repeat

HYDERABAD: Officials of Kasturba Gandhi Junior College for Women said that the incident of a gas emission on Friday took place near a garbage dump outside the college premises and requested authorities to move the dump to avoid a repeat of such incidents.

On Friday, students of classrooms 204 and 205 smelt a pungent gas from outside their window around 1.30 pm, when they were returning for the post-lunch session.

A college official said that around 30 students who were exposed to the fumes started feeling dizzy and nauseated, following which they evacuated all students and admitted those affected to a nearby hospital.

College officials said that they had noticed GHMC sanitation workers break a chemical bottle while clearing garbage from the dump, following which two workers at the spot started vomiting and the fumes started spreading to the college.

The authorities concerned were also informed.

“Government departments (police, clues team, fire and medical service) came to the college and did a complete inspection of the whole building, including checking of CCTV footage. They did not find any cause for the smell or lapse in safety measures in the college. It was later identified that the cause for the gas fumes was coming from outside the garbage dump adjacent to the college compound wall,” a college official said.

Officials said that a majority of the students were treated and discharged, while others would be discharged late Saturday.