Ammunition Factory khadki: 3 workers go on fast, demand increase in manpower in Danger Building section

As per the latest figures, 38 lakh man hours per year is required at Danger Building, where explosives are handled, to meet production targets.

THREE workers from Ammunition Factory, Khadki, started their fast unto death on Monday for various pending demands. The main demand is increasing number of workers in the Danger Building section of the factory.

The Indian Express reported on Sunday how the Ammunition Factory, Khadki, (AFK) one of the major manufacturers of ammunition, mainly
for Indian Defence forces, had been grappling with low manpower in the crucial Danger Building section. The paucity of workers in this section has not only led to a bottleneck in production, but also raised safety issues, and even led to accidents in the past.

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As per the latest figures, 38 lakh man hours per year is required at Danger Building, where explosives are handled, to meet production targets. For the Non Danger Building section, at least 24 lakh man hours is required. Despite this, the number of workers in Danger Building is 1,461 as against 4,100 workers in Non Danger Building.

The three members of Ammunition Factory Employees’ Union — Suresh Kumar, Arif Shaikh and Ajaykumar Yadav —are also demanding that all the practices under the Factories Act be implemented and qualified supervisors be appointed at the Danger Building.

The Indian Express on Sunday reported how the shortage of workers had led to a bottleneck in production at a time when Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had been making statements about increasing Defence production.

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