By Tripura24.in Bureau
AGARTALA | June 26, 2026: Elevating the investigative stakes of yesterday’s terrifying explosion at Ramnagar Road No. 4, the Honorable Chief Minister of Tripura, Dr. Manik Saha, today personally visited the site at NS Apartment to inspect the severe structural damages. Following a brief meeting with forensic experts and panicked local resident panels, the Chief Minister demanded a meticulous, high-level inquiry, explicitly pointing to a major system failure by Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited (TNGCL) as the primary trigger behind the disaster.
The high-profile spot evaluation by the Chief Minister comes less than twenty-four hours after a devastating blast ripped through an Abacus learning center operating on the first floor of the high-rise residential complex, leaving several citizens injured.
CM Lambasts Gas Enterprise Over Operational Negligence
After physically evaluating the shattered window fixtures, cracked walls, and damaged pipelines inside the apartment complex, Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha did not hold back in pinning the accountability on the state’s main piped-gas provider.
The Chief Minister asserted that preliminary technical assessments indicate a severe accumulation of leaked piped gas due to unmonitored structural fissures, transforming the commercial room into an active blast trap.
”What happened here at NS Apartment is a highly alarming and hazardous occurrence that directly threatened innocent lives. After inspecting the spot and analyzing the pattern of the structural destruction with the bomb squad and forensic teams, it is heavily suspected that a massive pipeline leak went undetected. I consider TNGCL to be the primary accused in this entire incident. This is a clear case of operational negligence. I have directed the home department and the police administration to initiate a strict, unbiased probe. If TNGCL’s supervisory cells are found guilty of ignoring safety standards, absolute criminal proceedings will be enforced against them,” Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha stated firmly to reporters at the scene.
Emergency Safety Directives Issued Post-Inspection
In the wake of the Chief Minister’s direct intervention, the state administration has mobilized a series of tight enforcement protocols to check the city’s expanding natural gas distribution network:
- Magisterial Inquiry Pipeline: Setting up a dedicated technical probe committee comprising senior PWD engineers, forensic specialists, and disaster management heads to submit an exhaustive cause-and-effect report within a stipulated timeline.
- City-Wide Pipeline Audit: Ordering TNGCL to run immediate, mandatory pressure-tests and safety checks across all high-rise residential installations in Agartala to check for secondary underground leaks.
- Medical Welfare Monitoring: The Chief Minister directed the medical superintendent at GBP Hospital to ensure advanced therapeutic care for the injured residents, including a woman who sustained severe facial trauma from flying glass shards.
Senior police officials accompanying the Chief Minister assured that the investigation has been upgraded to track institutional accountability, and technical logs from TNGCL’s regional control cells are being seized for forensic analysis.
