FIR Alleges Use of Aged Equipment In Telangana Factory Where Explosion Killed 38

Hyderabad: The first information report (FIR) filed by police in the case pertaining to the deadly explosion at a Sigachi Industries plant in Pashamylaram near Patancheru in Telangana has alleged that the accident occurred due to the use of old machinery at the factory.

The FIR was based on a complaint by the son of an employee, Venkat Jagan Mohan, who died in the mishap that occurred on Monday (June 30).

In his complaint, Rajanala Sai Yashwanth alleged that his father and other employees of the company had brought the danger of using old machinery to the notice of the management several times.

They appealed to the company ‘to change the machinery as [it was] too old’ on the grounds that ‘there was the possibility of loss of life and property in the factory’. But ‘the management turned a deaf ear and continued with the old machinery’, per his complaint.

The police booked a case against the management under Section 105 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), Section 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and Section 115 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

A top official of the state's industries department told The Wire that the reactor, as suspected earlier, was not involved in the accident. “The reactor was intact,” said this official.

He said that a fire occurred because of the presence of inflammable material in the vicinity of a spray dryer. But this is a preliminary finding and a high-level expert committee is looking into the specifics, he added.

Sources in the state government's factories and boilers departments said a massive rise in temperature to between 700°C and 800°C in a drying unit could have caused the explosion.

They said that spray dryers turn a liquid or slurry into dried powder. As a chemical process in the spray dryers led to a huge increase in temperature, blow air handlers would have been used to regulate air flow and temperature.

The explosion could have occurred due to a failure to clean the blow air handlers properly. This may have resulted in temperatures going up to very high levels in the spray dryer. Accidents such as this caused due to the poor handling of blow air handlers have been reported in plants in Uttar Pradesh, they added.

Sigachi Industries in filings in the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange clarified that the accident was not caused by a reactor explosion at its plant. It said the plant's operations will remain suspended for approximately 90 days.

In a press release, the company expressed anguish at the death of 40 employees and workers and injuries to over 33 others.

However, government figures put the death toll at 38, with only two more bodies recovered under the debris on Wednesday.

“Since the time of the accident, we have been coordinating the emergency response, family support and extending cooperation with the investigation and compliance efforts. Sigachi Industries has committed to an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 1 crore to the families of the deceased, while those injured will receive full medical and rehabilitation support,” the release signed by the company secretary said.

The state government on Wednesday constituted a four-member expert committee headed by B. Venkateswar Rao, emeritus scientist at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) here.

Chief scientist at IICT T. Pratap Kumar, retired scientist at Chennai's Central Leather Research Institute Surya Narayana, and safety officer at the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune Santosh Ghuge are its other members.

A government order released today said the committee is mandated to furnish its report within a month on the explosion's causes and the events that led to it. It is to specify whether the standard operating procedures for worker safety were followed or not.

The committee is also to explain any violations by Sigachi's management in following chemical and industrial protocol.

It must recommend a way forward to avoid such incidents in future in similar chemical and pharma industrial units. It must examine the work of the company's management, staff and workers and interact with various consultants, organisations, persons and government officials deemed fit.

Health minister Damodar Raja Narasimha visited the site twice today to supervise relief operations.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.