Probe Underway After Fire Breaks Out at Rajasthan Refinery a Day Before Modi's Visit
New Delhi: A fire broke out at a Rajasthan refinery a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to dedicate it to the nation.
The fire broke out a little before 2 pm on April 20, at the Pachpadra refinery in Balotra district of Rajasthan.
A Times of India report noted that it "engulfed its core processing units."
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, through its official X handle, announced that the incident took place near the Crude Distillation Unit at the HRRL refinery.
HRRL stands for the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd, which is a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and the Rajasthan government.
"The fire has been brought under control. There are no reports of any casualties," the ministry posted.
An investigation has been initiated to learn the cause(s) of the incident and to undertake necessary remedial measures, the post said.
The HPCL wrote through its official X account that the fire was localised and affected only the heat exchangers stack. "Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU), and all other Units of the CDU section were quickly isolated. All are structurally safe and unaffected. No other section of the refinery has suffered any impact," it said.
The post noted that prima facie, it appears that leakage of hydrocarbons through one of the valves or flanges in the heat exchanger circuit caused the fire.
The TOI report also notes that the foundation stone of the project was first laid by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in 2013, when the United Progressive Alliance was in power at the Union government, and then by Modi, once again, in 2018.
The inauguration had been originally slated for March 19, but had been postponed to April 21.
The refinery has cost Rs 79,450 crore.
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