Hasan: To the shock of HPCL expert team who were trying to find out the apparent reason of the gas leakage in the Mangaluru-Bengaluru, it was ascertained that the rapture was handiwork of thieves who had rigged a hole into the pipeline at Jenakallu.

Hardly ten days had passed by since the LPG gas pipe line was functional between Mangaluru and Bengaluru passing through Shirdi Ghat and Hasan, a complication was reported in the project.

A leakage was reported in the gas pipeline at the Jenukallu valley on Ankapura-Mosalehosahalli road in the taluk on Tuesday night. In spite of great efforts and the arrival of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd's (HPCL) expert team from Mumbai, the rupture in the pipeline could not be sealed.

LPG was seen spewing out like fountain to a height of six feet and the gas was seen flowing down by the small canals in adjacent agricultural fields on Tuesday night. The vehicular movement on Mosalehosahalli-Ankapura route was banned and the policemen had kept away all the vehicles from entering the radius of 3km from the leakage spot. The accident had triggered fear among the locals.

After the pressure was conveniently reduced on Wednesday evening, the officials could trace the point of leakage to a point below the earth under an agricultural field at Bachapura Koppal village. After the procedure of digging up the land, it was found that the miscreants had rigged a hole in the pipeline and a pipe and valve modeled after water tap had been fixed into it.

A controlling valve had been fixed on the spot to tap gas whenever required. But because of high pressure of LPG, the welding work fell apart and gas started leaking at high speed at the spot. The officials later took the task of sealing the hole which was the cause of concern.

It is being thought that the hole was created and a pipe was welded with a valve during the period the pipeline was laid. Apparently, the thieves along with the employees supervising the pipeline work had hatched a plan for stealing the gas whenever needed as after the completion of project no one would have dared to take a risk of digging a hole in the pipeline in operational mode.

While HPCL officials maintained that they had inspected the safety of pipeline before supplying gas through it, police officials asserted that a look at the spot gives clear hints that it was done at the time the pipeline was laid and not after. They felt that even if it is presumed that local farmers would have thought of this plan, they could not have executed this work as professionally as it looks. They therefore expressed the view that HPCL officials were at fault in not inspecting the pipeline properly after it was laid.