IMPROPER storage of explosives, lack of trained staff and unauthorised equipment - have emerged as key concerns in the probe into the deadly blast at SBL Energy Limited that claimed 19 lives. The safely lapses came to fore in the preliminary reports submitted The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH). The PESO and DISH officials inspected the accident spot on Sunday. They have submitted their preliminary reports to Nagpur Rural Police. Based on these reports, police have registered a case against the company officials. According to the PESO report, there were “immense violations” of safety compliance under the Explosives Rules, 2008. Officials noted that explosives produced each day must be cleared daily and large quantities should not be stored inside manufacturing buildings.

 

However, the company allegedly stored explosives produced over three days within the premises. A senior police official said, “The PESO report clearly points to gross violations of mandatory safety norms. Such negligence appears to have contributed to severity of the blast.” Boiler installed without sanction THE DISH report also flagged multiple lapses. It stated that the company had failed to appoint safety officers as required under the Factories Act. In addition, a boiler was reportedly installed and operated without obtaining mandatory approval from the competent authorities. “The installation and operation of a boiler without proper sanction is a serious breach of industrial safety rules,” the police official said. Investigators also found that CCTV cameras at the plant were installed in a haphazard manner and were not properly positioned at critical locations.

 

 

POLICE also noted serious gaps in worker training. “Many workers deployed in high-risk operations were not properly trained. Some had not even received basic initial training before being assigned the job,” the official added. Police said theinvestigation is ongoing and further action will follow based on technical findings. 

 

 

WITH a practice of hiring cheap labour to cut production costs, the company allegedly appointed unskilled workers, many of whom were women. In the absence of proper training, the company was operating in a completely unprofessional manner, an official said. Most of the labourers were hired from nearby villages as they were willing to work in the high-risk unit for a meagre salary of Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per month, he claimed. This practice had reportedly been going on for several years. Now, the PESO and the DISH have raised objections over serious safety lapses at the company. However, the big question being asked is what these regulatory bodies were doing all these years while such unsafe practices continued unchecked.