DISH officials peg chemical leak affected plant workers’ tally at 55

Pune: The number of workers affected by last week’s chemical leak at a Jubilee Life Sciences plant in Nira village in Pune district has gone up to 55.
Officials of the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) under the state’s labour ministry visited every affected individual and pegged the tally at 55. Of them, 15 workers are still undergoing treatment at hospitals in Lonand (Baramati taluka) and KEM Hospital in the city.The condition of the 42-year-old man put on ventilator support following severe respiratory distress has improved over the past few days.
“The initial tally of affected workers was inaccurate because some of them got admitted to hospitals according to their convenience. As per our latest survey, a total of 55 workers were affected by the chemical leak at a Jubilee Life Sciences plant in Nira village on April 17,” Sunil Thakare, deputy director of DISH, Pune, told TOI.
The man put on ventilator, Dattatray Gaikwad (42), is a contract driver from Thane. “He was initially on 100% artificial respiratory support. Now, he can breathe on his own. The artificial respiratory support has come down to 70% now,” said a doctor at KEM Hospital.
Gaikwad inhaled the fumes while unloading diluted acid.
The condition of another critical patient, 34-year-old Avinash Suryavanshi, has also improved a lot. “He has been moved to the hospital’s general ward. He will be discharged in a few days,” the doctor said.
Suryavanshi works as a fitter at the plant. “Avinash was having a tea break at the canteen when he inhaled the vapours and fainted,” his cousin, Hanumant Suryavanshi, said.
Villagers living near Jubilant Life Sciences’ chemical plant in Nira (Purandar taluka) have warned the company officials against resuming the plant’s operations. The plant was shut down on Thursday, a day after the chemical leak.
“The officials are intending to reopen the plant on May 1. If they persist, we shall block the road to the plant and stage protest,” said Vaibhav Konde, the vice-president of Nira River Sangharsha Samiti.