Locals complain of breathing difficulties, haze after suspected gas leak in Thane district
Thane (PTI): Residents in the vicinity of an industrial zone complained of eye irritation and breathing difficulties as a thick haze enveloped the area after a suspected gas leak from a factory in Maharashtra’s Thane district, an official said on Friday.
The situation is under control and there were no injuries or hospitalisations, said Yasin Tadvi, Chief of the Disaster Management Cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).
Panic ensued after smog-like conditions prevailed in the Morivali MIDC area of Ambernath town, on the outskirts of Mumbai, around 11 pm on Thursday, the official said.
After receiving complaints about a burning sensation in the eyes and breathlessness, local firefighters investigated the source of the haze, which was traced to a chemical company. They also advised people to stay indoors as a precaution.
Officials said a phosphorous-based chemical at the factory caused a dense white smoke, which spread through the area.
The manufacturing activities at the company have been halted temporarily, the official added.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
