Process to suspend four cold storages’ industrial licences begins

NAGPUR: The state government’s directorate of industrial safety and health has begun the process to suspend the licences of four controversial cold storages— Wadhwani cold storage and ice factory, Wadhwani Parmeshwari cold storage, Kunal cold storage and ice factory, and Vidarbha cold storage— situated in APMC premises at Kalamna. These cold storages will then have to shut down.
For running cold storage, permissions are needed from Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT)/Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), NMC’s fire and emergency services department, and directorate of industrial safety and health. NIT and fire department had already declared these cold storages as unauthorized.

Activist Kamlesh Shah has been pursuing the matter of unauthorized cold storages including four at Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) market at Kalamna for the last six years since collapse of Pravesh cold storage at Chikhli that killed 18 persons on January 31, 2012. A few days ago, cold storage-turned-godown caught fire causing loss of foodgrains at Kalamna.

Shah obtained documents about the four cold storages from directorate of industrial safety and health on February 28. One of them is a letter sent by assistant director SM Dhanvijay to additional director, Nagpur division. In the letter dated February 8, Dhanvijay said, “NIT has not given building plan sanction to the four cold storages. Also, fire department did not give any permission to them... Therefore, licence given to them should be suspended,” he said. Additional director has sent the letter to the office of director at Mumbai for further action.

Meanwhile, NMC will soon make it mandatory for the directorate of industrial safety and health to give or renew licences of industries including cold storages only after consent of fire department. Municipal commissioner Ashwin Mudgal is likely to write to the department soon.

In the fire incident of cold storage-turned-godown, process to completely demolish the structure has been started. Chief fire officer Rajendra Uchake said would be brought down within three-four days. “Owner of the godown has begun demolishing the structure after notices of fire department and NMC Lakadganj Zone.”