Telangana govt blasts Sigachi industries for negligence as toll rises to 44

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed displeasure with the top management of Sigachi Industries as rescue workers retrieved more bodies under the rubble, taking the toll in the factory fire to 44 while many more were reported to be missing.

Reddy, on Tuesday, visited the site of one of the worst industrial disasters in the state and announced a compensation of Rs one lakh for the next of kin of each dead, Rs 10 lakh for the critically injured, and another Rs 5 lakh for the injured.

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At a review meeting, he pulled up the company representative, saying, “It has been more than 24 hours. Where is your management? MD, who is the right person? He has to come; it is a major accident that happened on your premises, and he has to visit. He cannot avoid the situation; ask him to come and meet the district collector and the state labour and employment minister.”

He also pressed upon them to be more compassionate towards those affected. “This is the time to act with humanity. You cannot see this just as an accident,” said the chief minister and inquired about whether the factory was insured. Officers indicated that the compensation would be borne by the company.

State Industry Minister D Sridhar Babu also issued a stern warning to the company, saying, “Your top management is not here even after twenty-four hours. If he is so preoccupied, why is he running factories? Such a major incident, a fatal accident, has taken place. Our government will definitely take a serious view.”

He also pointed out that the director of factories had hinted at issues related to the blast. The company representative then informed the chief minister that the executive chairman and executive vice chairman visited the site yesterday and gave blanket approvals for the treatment of the workers admitted to various hospitals.

After visiting the site of the blast, the chief minister said, “Whatever concerns are there, whatever lapses are there, the regulations that have to be implemented – we will examine everything. We are taking a serious view of the incident.”

He also said Rs one lakh for the next of kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured will be released immediately for contingency. He noted that most of the workers were from Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana while refusing to comment on the cause of the blast, preferring to wait for the probe to be completed.

Meanwhile, heavy security was deployed outside the gate of the factory as rescue workers continued to sift through the debris, looking for more bodies and carrying them to hospitals for identification. At times they carried small boxes with charred bodies or just body parts as forensic teams were trying to complete the DNA tests on unidentifiable bodies.

Eleven bodies have been handed over to the relatives so far. For the rest, the close relatives, mostly women, anxiously waited outside the factory gates in the hope of getting some information about their loved ones.