AHMEDABAD: Two Bihar workers died of asphyxiation after a chemical spill at a facility in Gujarat's Valsad district on Tuesday, the second major incident in only fifteen days. On November 28, Nine persons were Killed and 24 workers sustained burn injuries in an explosion at Ether Chemical Industry at Sachin GIDC, Surat.
According to statistics, such incidents continue to occur in Gujarat. Gujarat Government official data says, about 700 workers have died and 213 were injured in the 587 industrial accidents that occurred in Gujarat over the last three fiscal years.
According to data presented by the Gujarat government in response to a question posed by Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani during the Last Monsoon Session of the Gujarat Assembly, the number of industrial accidents increased by 17% between 2020-21 and 2022-23.
In 2022-23, the number of industrial accidents in Gujarat increased from 179 in 2020-21 to 210. The number of fatalities also increased by 15%, from 217 in 2020-21 to 249 in 2022-23.
According to the government, 599 criminal cases for law violations have been filed. From 2020 to 2023 (three years), the government has received 16,770 complaints of industrial worker exploitation.
These complaints have increased by nearly 23%, from 5,063 in 2020-21 to 6,209 in 2022-23, according to the written response to a question posed by a Congress MLA in the assembly.
Dr. Manish Doshi, the spokesperson for the Gujarat Congress, accused the government, saying, "Factory safety and fire safety rules are not being followed in Gujarat, and the government is in sleep mode instead of running during accidents, which results in workers losing their lives."
The government has allotted posts for checking industrial factories, but most of these positions remain vacant.
According to the STANDARD REFERENCE NOTE - 2022 (Ministry of Labor & Employment, Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labor Institutes) report, 153 factory inspectors were allotted to Gujarat until 2021, with only 78 working.
Even though five medical factory inspector positions have been allocated for Gujarat, these posts remain vacant.
Similarly, four Chemical Factory Inspector positions have been assigned, but only one has been filled. Four positions of Hygiene Factory Inspector have been allotted, but no one has been appointed.
According to the report, there are 48,920 factories registered in Gujarat, of which 36,750 are operational. These factories employ 19,83,431 people, with 2,01,640 of them being women.