Safety first as fresh guidelines issued on restarting industries

NEWDELHI: The first week in which factories reopen after the national lockdown must be used as a trial period in which safety protocols are ensured and high production targets are not set, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in detailed guidelines issued on Sunday.

These guidelines came days after 12 people were killed in an industrial accident in Visakhapatnam that may have been caused by the long duration of inactivity at the facility.

“Due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units during the lockdown period, it is possible that some of the operators might not have folthe lowed the established SOP (standard operating procedure). As a result, some of the manufacturing facilities, pipelines, valves, etc may have residual chemicals, which may pose risk. The same is true for storage facilities with hazardous chemicals and flammable materials,” NDMA said in its guidelines.

Such units should consider the first week of restarting any machinery or chemical unit as

GUIDELINES COME AFTER 12 PEOPLE DIED IN VISAKHAPATNAM IN AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT THAT MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY LONG INACTIVITY

“trial” or “test run” period and “not try to achieve high production targets”, the agency added.

Industrial scale operations include the use of chemicals and machinery that require specific cycles of use and maintenance to keep them operating safely and free of hazardous materials that may accumulate as a result of disuse. Since March 25, most of these units have virtually been shut down, raising the risk of accidents.

The NDMA guidelines said that employees should be made aware of the need to identify abnormalities such as strange sounds or smells, exposed wires, vibrations, leaks, smoke, abnormal wobbling, irregular grinding or other potentially hazardous signs.

LUCKNOW: Finding adequate number of workers for resuming industrial production in the Covid-19 scenario is a big challenge, according to at least three industrialists.

They said this situation had arisen when all other major issues of industrialists had been resolved in the state capital and they wanted to start production.

They feared that many units may not be able to start production at all due to the workforce shortage despite clearance from the district authorities.

After the national lockdown began on March 25, almost all migrant workers returned to their native districts. With the lockdown still in force and public transport not available, workers were finding it difficult to return to their places of work, these industrialists said.

Locating the migrant workers who returned to the state from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi and finding those suiting specific requirements was a big challenge, said Awadesh Agarwal, a Lucknow-based industrialist.

Agarwal is also president of the Lucknow chapter of the Indian Industries Association (IIA), an industry lobby body of the micro, small and medium

enterprises sector.

The Lucknow administration has given permission to start units in all four industrial areas. The employers have also sanitised their units. But many are

sceptical whether they will be able to start production.

“Our workers have left. They are unable to return. Engaging migrant workers is a big challenge. First, we have to locate migrant workers who fit our skill requirement,” said Agarwal. “Even if we find one, no one is willing to return to work at present. They are in a trauma after getting uprooted from a place which was their home for the last so many years,” he added.

Pankaj Kumar, who runs a transformer manufacturing unit in Meerut, said: “My workers were from Haryana and all of them have gone back. Now, I am not able to find skilled and semiskilled workers of my requirement.”

“Migrant workers who have returned do not fit my requirement. Even unskilled migrant workers are not willing to join work at present,” Kumar added.

Another Lucknow-based industrialist Manmohan Agarwal sanitized his chemical plant and carried out all requisite safety checks that were made mandatory after the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident. Now, he says he is facing a shortage of workers.

“We have got permission to start units. My workers have left. I am finding it difficult to operate my plant. Finding skilled labour for my factory is proving to be a tough task,” said Manmohan Agarwal.

No migrant worker was willing to join work at present, he added.