Within 36 hours of the blast, the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, revived the hot metal production from Blast Furnace 3 on Saturday.
CMD P.K. Rath expressed satisfaction over the repairs done to the damaged tuyer in a record time and restoration of production. He thanked the ‘BF and Operation Collective’ for undertaking the restoration work on a war-footing.
The furnace, which has a capacity to produce around 7,500 tonnes a day, was closed after a leakage of hot metal from a pipeline triggered a blast.
Around 25 workers, who were present in the vicinity, had a providential escape as they went for snacks at around 9 a.m. when the shifts change.
An internal inquiry was also conducted to find out the circumstances that caused the accident.
BF 3 was commissioned as part of the ₹8,300-crore 6.3 million tonne expansion programme.
The workers had closed one tuyer and started another for hot metal production when the leakage led to spilling of hot metal and causing fire and blast. The management described the incident as a “minor” mishap.
‘Periodical maintenance’
Recognised union president J. Ayodharam expressed satisfaction over the restoration of BF 3 production, and said critical facilities needed periodical inspection.
He said some of the new departments lacked middle management employees as they were managed by senior level officials along with junior technocrats.