Yet another factory fire kills 2 workers No lessons learnt from Bawana blaze
NAWADA Workers say the building’s only exit had been locked from outside
NEW DELHI: Two factory workers were killed and another was injured in a fire at a crockery manufacturing unit in southwest Delhi’s Nawada on Monday night. This was the fifth major industrial fire in Delhi this year, which together have accounted for 26 fatalities.
Monday night’s fire broke out in a single-storey building at Nawada Industrial Area where three workers were on the night shift and the building’s only exit was locked from the outside leaving them trapped inside, said workers employed at the factory as well as others working in factories in adjacent units.
While the police are probing allegations about the factory building being locked from the outside, they said in at least two other previous instances of industrial fires in the Capital this year, the main exits were found to be locked at night.
Amit Kumar, who works at a razor-manufacturing unit next to the affected building, said the fire started around 10.30pm due to a short circuit. “There was a power cut in the area and we were all sitting on the terrace. As soon as the power supply resumed, there was a spark which appeared to have ignited some cardboard boxes near the exit and the fire spread almost instantly,” said Kumar.
We saw smoke coming out and heard voices crying for help, but due to the locked gate, we could not enter the building, he added. “We broke the lock open and called the police and fire department who took another 15 minutes to arrive,” said Kumar.
Chief fire officer (DFS) Atul Garg, said that at around 10.50pm they received the call about a fire at House No. 662 near Metro Pillar No. 707 in Nawada village. Garg said three persons were found unconscious inside the factory building and rushed to hospitals. Two of the workers — identified as Satinder Kumar (35) and Arvind Kumar (39) – were declared brought dead while the third, Chandan, was hospitalised with injuries.
“They were all found unconscious next to the gate. With breathing becoming increasingly difficult, there are signs that they struggled to escape,” said Garg adding there were no fire extinguishers in the building.
The deaths, are suspected to have been caused by asphyxiation, Garg said. He added that fire safety norms appeared to have been flouted by the factory owner. A large quantity of goods and raw materials were kept next to the main gate which made it impossible for the workers to escape, he added.
Police officials said they have registered a case of causing death by negligence and under other provisions of the Indian Penal Code against the factory owner Randeep Verma, 42. Verma had allegedly taken the premise on rent. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation said that the factory was running without licence on Delhi government land for nearly a year and had they even fined the owner earlier this month. NEW DELHI: Around three months after a fire at a factory in Bawana killed 17 people, there seems to have been no lessons learnt. Since then, four more such cases have been reported in manufacturing units across Delhi, taking the total number of lives lost to 26.
Labour commissioner Sanjay Saxena said that it was the duty of the municipal corporation to conduct inspections in the area, pointing out that the factory was running without a valid licence on government land.
When asked why no teams from the government conduct safety checks or inspections, Saxena said, “When the incident happened in a conforming area, there is no question of inspection. Inspections are conducted only in non-industrial areas.”
Officials from South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) said that they had constraints where the maximum they could do was to fine the factory owner, which they had done on April 10. SDMC said it had intimated the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), which has the right to seal illegal industries here, but there was no follow up action from the committee.
Indian Federation of Trade Union general Secretary Rajesh Kumar said that no major safety audit had been conducted in Delhi after the Bawana tragedy. “The factory inspector of the labour department is expected to proactively check if there are labour rights violations or safety conditions are not met. But even the odd inspections which happen take place merely on paper.”
A municipal official said in most cases, factories draw power in excess of the load sanctioned, which leads to short circuits.
Dunu Roy, from citizen’s group Hazards Centre, said, “Their tendency to squeeze maximum profits despite administrative shortcomings has contributed to such tragedies.”