SANGAREDDY: CPI MLA Kumaneni Sambashiva Rao demanded action against those responsible for the Sigachi factory blast.
“There has never been an accident of this scale caused by a blast. The government claims to have taken up rescue measures and is helping workers. It must order a judicial inquiry and punish those responsible,” he said after visiting the victims in various hospitals in Patancheru on Friday.
Sambashiva Rao later visited the factory but was initially denied entry due to an ongoing high-level inspection. After a brief altercation between CPI activists and police, he was allowed inside.
At the hospital earlier, Sambashiva Rao noted that while official sources confirmed 39 deaths, another 10 persons were missing. “Workers say the death toll is likely higher than reported. Even in the Bhopal gas tragedy, thousands died, but in a blast, such a high toll is unprecedented,” he said.
He demanded that the government ensure such incidents do not recur. “Most of those killed were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Even now, there’s no clarity on how many were working in the factory, how many survived, or how many died,” he added.