BHUBANESWAR: Four persons were injured, including one of them critically, in a blast inside the Orissa State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation (
Omfed) plant here on Saturday.
According to sources, the explosion took place in the sterilisation machine used in the sweet and flavoured milk bottling section, where the bottles are heated to 120°C and cooled off for longevity of the product.
The machine can accommodate around 1,000 bottles at a time.
The injured workers were rushed to a private hospital. The critically injured person was identified as
Sanatan Sahu of
Kalarahanga village while others are Mina, Rajani and Bini from Patia.
Sanatan is being treated by a special team of doctors. Two persons have been suspended for negligence of duty. Omfed will bear the treatment cost of the injured and paid Rs 50,000 compensation to Sanatan and Rs 10,000 to others, said Omfed spokesperson.
More than 100 workers were working in the plant when the blast took place.
Following the incident, labourers and employees staged a dharna on the factory premises demanding adequate safety measures at the workplace. Milk supply was reportedly affected in the afternoon leading to inconvenience to consumers.
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