PM Modi’s visit to Pachpadra oil refinery postponed following a fire in the plant’s unit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile visit to Pachpadra oil refinery for the inauguration of the mega plant scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed following a massive fire in one of its units on Monday.

According to security and intelligence officials, the VVIP visit and the function was being deferred as a precautionary measure to have thorough mechanical and technical review check ups in the affected unit. All concerned departments were informed about the postponement.

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Chief Secretary V Srinivas, who was there to supervise the arrangements for PM Modi’s visit, reviewed the situation following the fire incident.

A massive fire suddenly broke out in a unit of Pachpadra oil refinery on Monday, a day before the plant’s inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. According to preliminary reports, the blaze broke out in a CTU/Processing unit, about one kilometer away from the venue of the inauguration ceremony and the PM’s public meeting tomorrow.

The incident, ahead of the Tuesday’s mega programme, created panic for a short while. However, around 35-40 fire brigade units parked there for a high-profile programme and the VVIP visit gave a bit of a sigh of relief as they immediately swung into action to put out flames.

The refinery staff also switched on the fire safety system of the plant to control flames. These efforts almost controlled the fire in 45 minutes, however, it took over an hour to completely extinguish the flames.

The cause of the fire too was yet to be ascertained, the officials said.