SANGAREDDY: Official reports indicate that 25 workers have lost their lives in industrial accidents in just four months in the Sangareddy district. The district reportedly has only two officers from the Department of Factories responsible for monitoring and inspecting about 1,700 industrial units, with one being a regional officer and another being an inspector.
The recent spike in accidents occurring in various industries in the district are causing serious concern among the workers and their family members. Many of the workers deployed in these factories are migrants from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal. The workers said that while they have left their hometowns in search of employment, they will ultimately return as corpses if safety measures are not implemented.
It is alleged that those who do not possess the required skills are being employed as workers in the factories and are losing their lives due to accidents. Officials from the Factories department said that most of the accidents occurring in the district are due to human errors.
On Wednesday, a reactor at the Chandapur SB Organics in Hathnoora mandal killed six persons and injured several others. Commenting on this, the officials said in addition to having a complete understanding of reactor performance, one should act precisely in matters of which chemicals to use, how much to use, and how to use them. They said that even a slight negligence could lead to catastrophic consequences.
M Praveen Kumar, the regional officer from the Factories department, claimed that although the owners of the industries are hiring people who do not have technical knowledge, they are providing training, and they are not deploying untrained personnel at critical work areas like reactors under any circumstances.
He mentioned that officials are not in a position to inspect the industries at their discretion because a software selects both the officer and the industry they have to inspect.
Victims remain critical on Day-2 after blast
Two of the three injured persons who were undergoing treatment at Yashoda Hospitals in Hitec city after a blast at SB Organics Chemical industry in Sangareddy remain critical.
Dr M Ravi Kiran, chief operating officer, while speaking to TNIE said, “The condition of both the patients, the 34-year-old and the 37-year-old, who had suffered severe burns remains the same. They are under observation and on a ventilator. Their vitals are stable and no infection has developed so far in the burn wounds. We will continue to monitor their condition.” The other 24-year old patient with minor injuries was said to be stable.
(With inputs from Aarti Kashyap)