Comments
The bulk drug unit of Glochem Industries Ltd. at the Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City, Parawada in Visakhapatnam district was gutted on Thursday night, as a fire broke out late in the evening in one of the warehouses. The fire gradually spread to all the five blocks of the factory before dying down by Friday morning.
There were no casualties as all the 120 workers were evacuated to safety, according to Glochem General Manager R..A. Kulkarni. He said the cause of the fire was yet to be determined and the chemicals in the warehouses were lost.
Toxic gases
Fire tenders from Visakhapatnam, Anakapalle and the nearby areas reached the spot but they could not put out the fire, as the warehouses stored water-reactive chemicals such as sodium. The fire raged all through the night and the people in the nearby villages spent a sleepless night. There were also complaints of dizziness and other symptoms due to the toxic gases and emissions.
V. Seshadri, District Collector, and Chandrasekhar Varma, Joint Inspector of Factories, visited the site on Thursday night to monitor the situation.
Poor safety measures
The loss due to the fire is variously estimated at Rs 40-50 crore or in the region of Rs 50-70 crore.
There is no accurate assessment as yet. Varma said a comprehensive probe would be ordered into the fire.
The latest incident marks the third fire in the Pharma City, and people in the vicinity complain that the lack of safety measures is the main cause, and that the authorities are taking no steps to protect the public. The people of Tadi, a village right beside the Pharma City, are in particular agitated over the frequent mishaps in the area.
Apart from the fire accidents, the units are causing havoc due to pollution, according to the residents. They want the entire village to be shifted and a proper relief and rehabilitation package implemented.
On Friday, State Investment Minister G. Srinivasa Rao visited the factory and said a probe would be ordered into the incident. Any laxity on the part of the management would entail strict action, he added.
No NOC from Fire Dept.
N. Sambasiva Rao, Director-General of Fire Services, who visited the site, said the fire safety mechanism in the factory was not adequate and, in fact, the unit had not obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from a competent authority. The minister said a high-level meeting would be conducted here on Saturday on the incident in particular and the issue of safety measures taken by the units in the Pharma City.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.