Doubts crop up over recent fire in steel plant

Highlights

   •  Fire accident occurred on Nov 3 at SMS-2
   •  There was no official announcement from the management so far
   •  Some employees claim that the loss caused in the incident is in crores
   •  Trade unions demand detailed probe

Visakhapatnam: The fire accident that took place at Steel Melting Shop-2 in Visakhapatnam steel plant gave way to multiple doubts.

Although electrical cables and a few machinery materials went up in flames in the incident that occurred on November 3, the company management has not released any official statement related to it so far.

According to a section of employees, the property loss resulting from the incident is said to be in crores of rupees which eventually impacted the production as well.

According to employees, it will cost crores of rupees even to replace the damaged cables. At a time when the company lacks adequate funds even to invest in raw material, replacing the damaged cables is going to be burdensome for the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) which is mired in losses.

Meanwhile, a fire alarm system is in place at RINL to alert any smoke or fire incident. A dedicated committee is also in place to check whether the alarm system is in condition or not as inspections are being carried every month.

According to employees, it took over eight hours to douse the flames and bring the situation back to normalcy on November 3. The entry points remained shut for the firefighters to enter the incident spot and carry out rescue operations.

Representatives of Steel Plant Employees Union said there were no experts at the spot to take up rescue operations and prevent further damage.

Sharing his views, Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee representative J Ayodhya Ramu pointed out that the recent incident is nothing but human negligence. “There is a lack of electrical, mechanical maintenance at SMS-2. Work was given to contract employees who are not qualified. Among other reasons, these factors too led to the accident,” he opined.

On Monday, Steel Plant Employees Union secretary E Srinivasa Raju, vice-president U. Maridaiah, among others, submitted a memorandum to CGM (works), RINL, seeking a detailed probe into the recent fire accident at the SMS-2.

Demanding action against those responsible for the incident, the union representatives appealed to the management to ensure a safe workplace and take serious steps to avoid such incidents from happening in future.