THE death toll in the April 14 blast at Vedanta’s power plant in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district has gone up to 21 after a worker succumbed to injuries, officials said on Friday. The explosion occurred in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the power plant located in Singhitarai village. Fourteen persons are currently hospitalised, five of whom are in critical condition, the officials added. A worker identified as Kismat Ali from Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli died at a private hospital in Raipur on Thursday night, Sakti Superintendent of Police Prafull Thakur told PTI. As per officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine succumbed to injuries soon after the incident. Another seven died in hospitals on April 15. The deceased comprise six labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, three each from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, and two each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, they added. “Of the 14 injured, six are admitted in Jindal Hospital in Raigarh, two each in Balaji Metro Hospital Raigarh, Apex Hospital Raigarh and Raigarh Medical College. One each is undergoing treatment in Shri Shankara hospital and Kalda hospital, both in Raipur. Five are critical,” a government official said. Police have registered an FIR under sections related to causing death by negligence and negligent conduct with machinery. Eight to ten individuals, including Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal and plant head Devendra Patel, have been named in the FIR, Sakti SP Prafull Thakur had said on Thursday.

 

A preliminary technical investigation into the blast has found that excessive fuel accumulation inside the boiler furnace led to a pressure build-up, triggering the explosion, police officials said on Thursday. A report by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Sakti also confirmed that the accumulation of fuel and the resulting excessive pressure were the primary causes of the explosion, they said. In a press conference here on Friday, Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress MLA Charan Das Mahant sought stricter charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the case. “Over the last two and a half years, around 300 workers have lost their lives in industrial accidents across the state. The FIR in the Vedanta power plant blast has been lodged under very ordinary provisions. Despite more than 20 people having died, only bailable charges have been pressed,” he claimed. “Our demand is that Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita be applied in this matter. Under the BJP government, industrial safety in Chhattisgarh has been left entirely to the mercy of God,” Mahant added. He also said an incident of this magnitude must be probed by a sitting High Court judge rather than the sub divisional magistrate. “Mahant demanded advanced treatment for critically injured workers at specialised centres in cities like Mumbai and Coimbatore, adding that a fully equipped burns hospital must be set up in Chhattisgarh. Talking to reporters here, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said a probe into the incident has been ordered and assured strict action against those found responsible. He added that arrangements are being made to ensure proper treatment for the injured. The district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry in the incident.