Safety norms flouted

HYDERABAD: The chemical factory S M Labs Private Limited which was gutted after a high intensity explosion on Monday night, grossly violated the fire safety norms and did not even have portable fire extinguishers.
"As per the norms, construction of one lakh litre underground storage tank for fire fighting is a must. In fact, we had trouble extinguishing the fire as there was no water source," the District Fire Officer (DFO) P V Ramana told TOI.A fire department official alleged that the Director of Factories and Commissioner of Industries had been giving permissions to factories without examining whether the required fire safety measures were actually in place.
The fire mishap in the factory at A S Rao Nagar, Moula Ali, ripped tin sheds of adjacent factories and houses in the nearby colony apart from causing cracks in some houses . Some glass panes also got smashed. The high intensity explosion ripped apart the compound wall and damaged the reactors, dryers , vats and a centrifuge in the company.
Locals said that the impact was felt in the three-kilometre radius of this bulk drug intermediate manufacturing company. Residents of some nearby colonies who initially saw their furniture shaking and doors slamming shut, thought that they were the midst of an earthquake . The thick smoke and irritating stench that engulfed the area after this, made them realise it was a fire mishap in a factory nearby.
"I thought it was an earthquake first. But soon the air got polluted and smoke from the burning factory could be seen at least two and a half kilometres away," said Vijay Daniel. Yaseem Begum who stays in the New Srinagar Colony behind the factory said that due to the deafening sound, she rushed out of the house with her two daughters and sat on the road the whole night."
While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the company management denied that the fire was due to a reactor blast. All the 15 reactors in the company are intact , they say. DFO Ramana said, "The clues team collected the samples . It will take around four days to know the cause."
Meanwhile, police have slapped a case against the management of SM Labs Private Limited under section 338 (Causing grievous hurt by an act which endangers human life) under the Indian Penal Code. If convicted, the persons responsible for the accident would face two years jail or fine of Rs 1,000 or both.
Police took the complainant from H Niranjan, a worker of the unit who suffered severe burn injuries in the fire mishap. "We also recorded the statement of Sravan Kumar, another worker who also suffered burn injuries, as evidence . The case is under investigation ," Malkajgiri inspector of police M Madhusudhan Reddy told TOI.
On Tuesday morning, a few residents staged a protest demanding compensation for the damage caused to their houses.