LPG cylinder mishap at Bongthing School destroys kitchen

MANGAN, 07 Nov: The kitchen cum dining hall, an RCC structure, of the Bongthing School here at Naga in North Sikkim was destroyed in a fire that broke out at around 2 a.m this morning when an LPG cylinder exploded.
While no one was injured in the incident, 70% of the consumables and fixtures in the kitchen which include furniture, GCI roof, glassware were damaged.
Fortunately, the fire was brought under control by the public including Upa-Zilla Adhakshya North, NT Lepcha along with the ward panchayat. After battling the fire for around two hours, the main school building was saved from the fire.
Chungthang SDM, ST Topgay Dhakarpa, Joint Director HRDD (N), Sonam Lepcha and PI, Mangan along with police personnel visited the spot this morning and took stock of damages. The kitchen shed was a three-room structure.
At the time of the explosion, the Upa-Adhyaksha(N), NT Lepcha and his family members were sleeping on the first floor of the Bongthing School as his residence is being renovated. While the domestic LPG cylinder which was being used for cooking was not damaged, it was the new refilled cylinder which exploded, it is informed.
The Upadhakshya said that LPG suppliers should check all the cylinders against leakage as some of the cylinders might have been in circulation for a long time and might need to be replaced with new ones so that such incidents can be avoided in future.