CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR, AUG 30 (PTI): Gas leaked from a GAIL pipeline near the Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, forcing authorities to divert traffic on a 24-km stretch of the highway, officials said.
The leak was reported at around 5 pm on Saturday near Takliwadi in Gangapur taluka, located alongside the expressway, following which the district administration launched immediate precautionary measures and alerted the GAIL officials, they said.
Fire-fighting equipment was also kept ready at the site as a precaution, officials said on Saturday night.
Experts from GAIL shut valves on both sides of the affected pipeline section, causing the pressure inside to reduce gradually, the administration said.
Traffic between chainage 447 and 470 of the Samruddhi Expressway, covering the stretch between Hadas Pimpalgaon and Maliwada, was diverted onto the Dhule-Solapur highway, district Collector Vinay Gowda G C said in a release. Vehicles heading towards Mumbai have been asked to exit the expressway at the Hadas Pimpalgaon interchange, take the Dhule-Solapur highway and re-enter the Samruddhi Expressway at Maliwada, the release said.
Similarly, vehicles on the way to Nagpur will exit at the Maliwada interchange, use the Dhule-Solapur highway and re-enter the expressway at Hadas Pimpalgaon.
The district administration and police were monitoring the situation, and efforts were underway to restore normal traffic at the earliest, officials said.
