Overview
- A suspected underground coal‑mine gas emission in Rajput Basti has left two women dead and sent more than two dozen residents to hospitals, with causes of death pending postmortem.
- About 400 people have been moved to safer locations, and the district aims to relocate roughly 10,000 residents, but many families are refusing to leave ancestral land and are demanding a technical fix.
- A 32‑member NDRF team has set up a field camp, recorded carbon monoxide concentrations up to 1,680 ppm, and is mapping hotspots with CIMFR, DGMS, CMPDI and BCCL.
- Authorities are probing suspected seepage linked to underground workings near the abandoned GM Bangla, with affected pockets reported in Rajput Basti, Masjid Mohalla, Naya Dhowra and nearby areas.
- Officials reported no new hospitalizations by Sunday evening though residents still noted faint gas odors, and one woman fell ill during a survey but was declared stable.