Three days on, Bhushan death count still unclear

Three days after the blast in the Bhushan Steel limited’s plant in Dhenkanal district, the State Government is still clueless about the exact number of persons killed and injured in the mishap.

Though the plant was not accessible, nor any of its higher bosses either, immediately after the explosion and fire in the Blast Furnace-2 of Slag Pit area during its commissioning, on Wednesday, the very day one person was reported to be killed and 40 injured. However, later, the plant authorities failed to clarify as to the exact number of workers engaged during the commissioning of the furnace and the ones killed, injured and trapped.  

District Collector Rooparoshan Sahu even expressed her helplessness with regard to giving a clear picture on the death toll, passing the buck to the plant for having failed to produce any reliable record pertaining to the workforce employed on the fateful day. The prevailing confusion has fuelled a suspicion that many more persons might have been killed and injured than cited.

Several trade union and political leaders cried foul over the goof-up, attributing the frequent accidents in the steel plant to its safety negligence and manipulation of law in connivance with powerful members of the BJD Government and officials of various regulatory bodies like the Factory & Boiler Directorate and the State Pollution Control Board. State labour Minister Bijayshree Routray ordered the labour Commissioner to investigate the mishap in detail and the workers engaged on the date, including the number died and injured. He also directed the Director, Factory & Boiler to ascertain the condition of the Blast Furnace-1 that is now functional in the plant.  

It may be recounted that Dhenkanal police under pressure had arrested three high officials including COO AK Barma for gross safety negligence during the commissioning of Blast Furnace-2 a day after the mishap. The trio was put up in the Hindol Sub Jail after their bail pleas were rejected by a local court.

Bhushan Steel Shramik Congress Union general secretary Rajeev Jena alleged that Bhushan MD Neeraj Singhal had ordered the illegal commissioning of the furnace and was present in the plant at the time commissioning. Jena lodged an FIR in the Bhushan Police Station against Singhal as well.

Senior BJP leaders, who raised the issue first, in the meantime, demanded the arrest of Bhushan MD Neeraj Singhal. Party activists in the leadership of former MP Rudra Narayan Pany staged a demonstration in front of the plant gate. Besides, members of various trade unions also staged demonstrations in front of the Directorate of Factory & Boiler at Bhubaneswar. Many aggrieved people ransacked the office. Social activist Prafulla Samantra also visited the troubled spot.