Pet coke factory sealed for violating Covid guidelines

PARADIP: The Jagatsinghpur district administration sealed the factory of Kalinga Calciner Limited in Paradip for violating Covid-19 guidelines on Friday. The administration’s move came after a contractual worker, Manoranjan Biswal, sustained critical injuries at work. Biswal was fitting asbestos at a height of 30 feet without wearing any safety gear on Thursday when he fell down and was seriously hurt. Following the incident, hundreds of workers staged demonstration demanding safety gear for them.

During investigation, it was found that the company management had obtained permission to run the factory by engaging 39 workers. However, it had allegedly employed hundreds of workers for production. Besides, the workers were not wearing masks and adhering to the social distancing norm, sources said.
Collector Sangram Keshari Mohapatra directed Paradip ADM Kanhu Charan Dhir to seal the factory for violating the guidelines of Covid-19. 

However, director of Kalinga Calciner Ltd Gobind Tarai claimed excess manpower was not used in the factory. “A huge crowd gathered on the premises after Thursday’s mishap in violation of coronavirus guidelines due to which the administration sealed the factory,” he said. Kalinga Calciner Limited produces 2.20 lakh tonne of petroleum coke per annum. It procures raw materials from petroleum refinery and converts it into calcined pet coke to use in the aluminum plants. The company was running the factory since the last 10 days by claiming that limited manpower was being used.