Govt apathy behind accidents in Nagpur district’s explosives manufacturing units: Wadettiwar

Nagpur: Congress legislature party leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Wednesday sharply criticised the govt in the Maharashtra Assembly, blaming "official apathy" for the deadly explosion at the SBL Energy factory in Nagpur district and loss of lives in similar incidents in the past.Raising an adjournment motion and demanding an urgent discussion, the Bramhapuri MLA said the blast was not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing pattern of industrial accidents that authorities failed to prevent. "The explosion at the SBL company in Nagpur and the loss of lives is extremely tragic and deeply disturbing. Instead of ensuring safety, govt seems content with making announcements," he said.
The senior Congress leader told the House that Nagpur district has 11 explosives factories and claimed that at least 40 workers, including 25 women, died in blasts in these units over the past 18 months. Referring to the explosion on Sunday, he said 19 workers were killed. "These labourers risk their lives for wages of barely Rs300 a day. Has the life of the poor become so cheap for this govt?" he asked.Wadettiwar said repeated requests were made to the central and state govts to conduct comprehensive safety audits of explosives factories, but no concrete action followed. On the role of regulatory agencies, he said. "The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) office is barely 10 kilometres away, yet inspections are not carried out seriously," he said, asking what factory inspectors and the labour department were doing despite recurring accidents.He argued that the families of victims needed assurances about safety rather than announcements for compensation. "Will declaring Rs15 lakh or Rs50 lakh bring back the lives lost?" he asked.Wadettiwar also alleged that the factory where the explosion occurred lacked even a proper approach road, calling it a serious administrative failure. He demanded strict action against those responsible.Speaker Rahul Narwekar said the issue was serious and directed that a detailed discussion be held through a calling attention motion by Friday.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Holi wishes, messages and quotes !