Described as the “mother” depot in the Army, the Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) is the largest such establishment in the country and one of the biggest in Asia. Spread over 7,000 acres, the CAD stores all kinds of ammunition, including bullets, shells, anti-tank mines, missiles, rockets and mortars and supplies to 11 Forward Ammunition Depots (FAD).
The CAD receives the ammunition from the 40-odd ordnance factories and stores them in more than 150 sheds. The war stores are then supplied to the FADs through rail and road network located inside the depot.
Given the importance of the depot, as it feeds the entire Army in terms of ammunition, the court of enquiry will be conducted as soon as possible to find the cause of the fire and take remedial measures to prevent such incidents in future, officials said.
Moreover, special teams of the Army will also review the extent of damage caused by the devastating fire and resultant explosions. The stock-taking will enable the Army to assess if critical ammunition requirements are hit and the time that will be taken to overcome shortages, if any.
Explaining the procedure for supplying ammunition to FADs, officials said the inventory is maintained as per the operational requirements by the FADs, which maintain the logistical chain through Corps, battalions and lastly till the bunker-level at the frontline. The damage assessment will enable the Army to rework its logistical chain time-table in case of major damage resulting in shortage of ammunition, they said.
Meanwhile, this is the third major accident in an Army ordnance depot in the last few years.
In 2007, a depot near Srinagar witnessed a massive fire and explosions. A major fire devastated an ammunition depot near Bharatpur, Rajasthan in 2000.
Following these incidents, the Government asked the Army and other agencies to carry out a safety audit of the ordnance depots and they came out with various measures to prevent such incidents. These measures include constructing temperature-controlled underground silos to store ammunition, regular clearing of grass and undergrowth at all the bases to prevent dry grass from catching fire and adhering to standard operating procedures while handling and storing ammunition.
The other measures included construction of fire lanes, ban on controlled fires, making up deficiencies in firefighting equipment at the earliest and strict control over cooking and heating of food at security posts.
Moreover, the bases were asked to construct more sheds for storing ammunition to avoid clutter and possibility of accidents due to friction. The depots were also directed to do away with unserviceable ordnance on a priority basis.
The probe into the Pulgaon incident will take into account all these issues and find out if there was any slip-up while maintaining and storing the ammunition, sources said here.
