Telangana govt appoints experts committee to determine causes of Sigachi blast

The Telangana government on Wednesday constituted a committee with experts from CSIR -Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) to identify the causes, establish the reasons and events that led to the blast at Sigachi Industries plant in Sangareddy.

Meanwhile, in its first official statement after the deadliest industrial accident in Telangana, Sigachi Industries Limited claimed that the blast was not caused by a reactor explosion at the plant. The company also announced that it was committed to paying ex-gratia compensation of Rs one crore to the families of the deceased.

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According to the company, 40 people died and 33 were injured in the explosion that ripped through its plant in Pashamylaram in Sangareddy district last Monday.

Two days after the explosion, Sigachi Industries has put out a statement on the explosion in its plant, which was termed as the worst industrial accident in the state by chief minister A Revanth Reddy.  

The chief minister had pulled up the top management of the company for not being in touch even after 24 hours of the incident. The statement claimed, “Since the time of the accident, we have been coordinating the emergency response, family support and extending cooperation with the investigation and compliance efforts. Sigachi Industries Limited has committed to an ex gratia compensation of INR 1 crore to the families of the deceased, while those injured will receive full medical and rehabilitation support.

The company also clarified, “As we await the results of the investigations, we would like to clarify that the accident was not caused by a reactor explosion at the plant.” It stated that the operations in the plant will be temporarily suspended for approximately 90 days.

Although the company stated that 40 people died in the blast, a government order from the Labour department mentioned that 143 people were inside the factory premises and “more than 40 persons” died.

The GO appointed a four-member committee of scientists from CSIR-IICT led by emeritus scientist B Venkateshwar Rao and two other scientists and a safety officer of CISR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Pune to identify the causes and establish the reasons and events leading to the explosion. They will also look into whether standard operating procedures (SOP)for safety of workers were followed or any lack of compliance by the company.     

The building did not come under the purview of Section 13 of the Fire Act, which requires an establishment to procure a no-objection certificate from the Fire Department. Moreover, the building constructed in 1989 was an old one and the fire department said there were some fire extinguishers.

Based on the complaint by a family member of the victim, the Sangareddy police have registered an FIR against the factory management under various sections 105, 110 and 117 of BNS pertaining to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempting to commit culpable homicide and voluntarily causing grievous hurt.