Andhra Pradesh: Power failure caused Eluru factory fire, says Human Rights Forum
The HRF has asked the government to shut down Porus Laboratories permanently after conducting an investigation.
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The HRF has asked the government to shut down the plant permanently. (Representational)The fire in which six workers were charred to death at a chemical factory in Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh on the night of April 13 was caused by power failure and malfunction of the backup system, stated Human Rights Forum (HRF).
The failure of both systems heated a reactor leading to its explosion and the massive fire, stated the HRF which conducted an investigation at Porus Laboratories Private Limited in Akkireddigudem village. The HRF has asked the government to shut down the plant permanently.
The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board on April 15 ordered the closure of the plant and asked the power discom to disconnect supply.
“On the night of the incident when the reactors and chiller system were functioning. there was power loss. A continuous supply of brine solution at minus 16 degrees from the chiller system to reactors is essential. When the power went off, the workers tried to power the system using alternate power systems only to realize that the batteries need to be exchanged. By the time it was done a reactor heated up and went into flames,” a statement from HRF said.
“The HRF demands that the chemical plant of Porus Laboratories Private that resulted in the gruesome death of six workers and fatal injuries to 12 workers be shut down permanently. We call for criminal prosecution of management of the company and officials of regulatory bodies for criminal negligence. The government and the company should make immediate arrangements for sending migrant workers from Bihar, numbering around 50, back home as they are requesting,” said G Rohith, HRF state executive committee member.
A two-member HRF team visited the village on April 16 and spoke to villagers, families of victims, employees of the plant and ex-employees of the plant to ascertain facts. “There was no distributed control and monitoring system in place to monitor the temperature and pressure round the clock. There were no alternate power systems in place on hand. There was neither automatic detection nor blockage systems in place whose presence might have averted the disaster. One can also surmise that turn around and inspection exercise that should be carried out periodically is absent. This is nothing but criminal negligence on the part of the management. The utter callous attitude of the plant management in evacuating the injured and dead makes a gory, gruesome tale. The workers were left to fend for themselves and make their own escape,” Rohith said.
The HRF says that with the case of LG Polymers gas leak still fresh in memory, the government should take action by shutting down the plant permanently, and criminally prosecuting the management and the officials of regulatory authority.
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