2 staff of Bajaj Auto plant die of Covid

■ Aurangabad unit to be shut for 2 days for sanitisation

Aurangabad/Mumbai, June 27: Bajaj Auto’s plant at Aurangabad will be shut for the next two days, the local administration said on Friday after two employees died and 140 have been infected due to coronavirus.

The auto maker said on Friday that after the first coronavirus case was reported on June 6, it has taken all necessary measures as per the protocol and that all incidences were reported to the appropriate authorities.

According to local administration officials, the Waluj plant will be shut for two days to carry out sanitising operations at the facility.

The plant has more than 8,100 employees and contractors, and so far there has been 140 cases of coronavirus infections, the auto maker said.

Aurangabad district collector Uday Choudhari told PTI the company has communicated that they would be shutting down the plant for the next two days while any emergency services can continue.

Bajaj Auto’s CHRO Ravi Kyran Ramasamy said it has planned downtime for routine maintenance on Saturday and that Sunday is normally closed.

The officials said the company has agreed to shut down the plant for two days and that the entire campus will be sanitised during this period. Citing preliminary investigation, the officials also said they don’t know if the spread of infections was in the factory.

“Our current incidence of 140 cases of Covid is less than 2 per cent of our strength. Two of our infected employees with underlying conditions of hypertension and diabetes have unfortunately succumbed to the infection,” he said in a statement.

In another statement to PTI, Ramasamy said the company has planned downtime for routine maintenance on Saturday as it was not operating at full capacity.

“Post lock down we have had similar routine shutdown on Saturdays as a cost saving measure many times due to subdued demand. Also our weekly off is on Sunday when we are normally closed.”

◗ THE PLANT has more than 8,100 employees and contractors, and so far there has been 140 cases of coronavirus infections