Maharashtra: Government negligence caused Nagpur factory blast, alleges Congress leader

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Wednesday alleged that government negligence caused the recent blast at an explosives manufacturing unit in Nagpur, which killed 19 workers.

The blast occurred on Sunday morning at a factory owned by SBL Energy Limited in the Raulgaon village around 6.45 am. Eighteen workers died immediately while one succumbed to injuries the following day, PTI reported.

Twenty-three persons were injured in the incident.

Wadettiwar described the incident as “tragic and heart-numbing” and raised a suspension motion in the Assembly, demanding an immediate and detailed discussion on the matter

While addressing the Assembly, Wadettiwar claimed that 43 workers had died in similar incidents at explosives factories in the district over the past 18 months.

“Despite repeated requests to conduct safety audits of such companies, no concrete action has been taken by the state or the Centre,” he said.

He said the district has 11 explosives factories and questioned why recurring accidents had not prompted stricter inspections by the factories inspectorate and the labour department.

“On one hand, we speak of a ‘trillion-dollar economy’, jet off to Davos for photo ops in the snow, and on the other hand, workers in Maharashtra are risking their lives for a measly 300 rupees in daily wages,” he said.

Wadettiwar said that inspections were not carried out seriously even though the Petroleum and Explosives Safety...

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