PARADIP: The Paradip Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) will be shut down from July 25 to August 15 for maintenance work and for testing of its employees. Jagatsinghpur Collector Sangram Keshari Mohapatra said the refinery will be shut down for 22 days as no maintenance has been undertaken at the plant since its inception in March 2018.
The shutdown will also be used for testing of swab samples for Covid-19 of 130 of the refinery’s employees and two teams will be engaged for the purpose. The plant has its own quarantine centre in the town. A few engineers and experts will stay at the plant site during the maintenance period. Besides, 800 persons from peripheral villages too will be engaged in the task. The district administration has asked the plant’s officials to provide them masks, gloves and sanitiser.
Adherence to Covid-19 preventive measures will be monitored by the ADM of Paradip. The administration will impose section 144 of CrPC at the plant a day before it is shut down. All shops near the refinery too will remain closed during the period.
Sources said the refinery and district administration officials decided to shut down the plant not only for its maintenance but also to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Last week, an employee of L&T, engaged by the refinery, was found positive. Besides, an employee of the plant was tested positive for the virus.
On Saturday, of the 22 cases detected from the district, 18 were reported from the port town. Of them, 10 were lodged at IOCL’s quarantine centre, one at paid quarantine centre of a contract agency, five at the isolation ward of the district headquarters hospital and two at the local temporary medical centre.
Of the remaining, while three cases were reported from Naugaon, one was from Kujang.