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New Delhi : The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports that in a major industrial accident, nine workers were killed and 14 others injured following a blast in a gas pipeline during a “scheduled maintenance job at Steal Authority of India’s flagship Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh on October 9, 2018. According to Chhattisgarh Police, the death toll may rise as the condition of some of the injured is very serious.
The NHRC has issued notices to the Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India, New Delhi, and the Chairman, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), New Delhi, calling for a detailed report in the matter including the steps taken for relief and rehabilitation to the aggrieved families, treatment of the injured along with the report of inquiry, if ordered into the matter. The Commission would also like to know as to what steps have been taken to ensure that such accident do not recur in future, according to an NHRC release.
Apart from this, the Superintendent of Police, Durg, Chhattisgarh, has been directed to inform about the details of the FIR registered in the matter and present status of the investigation. The response from the authorities is expected within four weeks.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, that there was negligence on the part of the authorities, this is a case of violation of Right to Life of the victim workers. The Steel Authority of India is a Government of India undertaking. Occurrence of such a fatal accident at their reputed steel plant in which 9 people have lost their lives and several got injured, is a matter of concern for the Commission.
According to the media reports, carried on October 10, 2018, the unfortunate incident occurred during maintenance work which was being carried out by the Energy Management Department. There was a fire in gas pipeline on gas Coke Oven Battery Complex 11 during a scheduled maintenance job.
The maintenance work itself is reportedly a highly volatile process and it is clear that something went wrong during the process. There were 23 people reportedly working near the pipeline at the time of the blast.