Chemical factory owners must stringently adhere to safety norms, said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday. He directed the Pune district administration to ensure that the compensation announced by the State government reached the kin of the 17 labourers who were charred to death at a chemical manufacturing company in the district’s Mulshi area.
“Industrial safety standards must be seriously reviewed in the aftermath of the explosion at a chemical company at Urware which resulted in the tragic deaths,” he said.
The incident occurred late afternoon on Monday when two explosions caused a powerful blaze inside the SVS Aqua Technologies, a chemical manufacturing company. Most of those killed were women while five other labourers were seriously injured. The government had announced an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh for the kin of each of the deceased.
The Chief Minister warned of stern action against errant industries that neglected safety norms and regulations.
He said the committee comprising officials of the Pune district administration, which had been constituted to probe the accident, should submit its report immediately after a comprehensive inquiry.
“The administration should also take action to provide assistance to the families of the deceased and provide financial assistance to their relatives as soon as possible. The chemical industrial safety standards should be reviewed frequently in industrial estates.”
Owner in police custody
A local court remanded Nikunj Shah, one of the owners of the company, to police custody till June 13.
Mr. Shah had been arrested on Tuesday following questioning under relevant Sections of the IPC for ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’.
The preliminary probe revealed gross negligence on the company’s part in adhering to basic fire safety norms and building permission rules. Authorities said the premises had no emergency exit doors, which had led to the hapless workers being tragically charred to death when the fire began to rapidly spread.