Death of Workers in Muzaffarpur Boiler Blast Tragic
CPIML Conducts an Independent Inquiry into the Incident
The negligent and wrong industrial policies of the Nitish government led to another accident on 26 December which took many lives when a boiler blasted in Bela Industrial Area Phase 2 at BIADA in Muzaffarpur. This is not the first incident when such a large number of workers have died; just a few days ago, similar incidents took place at Barauni and Sugauli, but the government refused to learn anything from those incidents.
CPIML Bihar State Secretary Kunal said that industries have anyway declined sharply under the Nitish government; there are a few private industries running and the government is highly negligent about them. Minimum safety standards are being flagrantly violated but the government is turning a blind eye to these violations.
CPIML Enquiry Report
Immediately on hearing of the boiler blast, a CPIML enquiry team led by Phulwarisharif MLA Gopal Ravidas left for the incident site and SKMCH Hospital. The team inspected the Kurkure noodles factory as well as other factories in the area. The management's negligence was evidently behind the boiler blast. Pintu, cousin of deceased Sandeep Kumar (resident of Musahari Chhapra) told the team that there was a leakage in the boiler for the past 6 months. The workers had complained about this to the Manager Uday Shankar and other management personnel of the plant, but their complaint went unheeded. The boiler was made to work even though it was in faulty condition. As a result, the blast occurred on 26 December and many workers died. The District administration puts the number of dead at 7 and the number of injured at 7, but the local people and workers say there are dozens of dead and injured people. The truth will come out only through a high level probe.
If timely action had been taken on the workers' complaint and the boiler had been repaired before working it, this massive accident would not have occurred. Clearly, the factory management and administrative officers are responsible for this.
Pintu told the team that Sandeep Kumar did not want to work. But as his duty was in the boiler, the machine would not start unless he went for duty. On the morning of 26 December also, he was called by phone and ordered to come for duty. The thunderous blast occurred at 9.40 AM. When Pintu reached there, many dead bodies were scattered inside. Factory management personnel were hurriedly putting everyone into vehicles and sending them to the hospital. Pintu also reached SKMCH, where he identified one of the bodies as Sandeep by looking at his feet. Sandeep was married and has 3 children.
Pankaj, resident of Mathurapur in Sakra Thana, said that he had come for duty that morning. Suddenly the boiler burst and there was a huge blast. Many workers were blown to smithereens. The factory roof was blown away. We somehow ran outside and saved our lives.
Boiler was Faulty for Past 6 Months
There are 2 units of Kurkure Noodles Pvt Ltd in Bela Phase 02. The blast occurred in the 2nd unit. The workers had already complained about the faulty boiler 6 months ago and conveyed there fears. The boiler's safety valve was also not working. As a protest the workers had even gone on a 2-day strike. Lalan Yadav (resident of Khajuhan, Rasulpur Thana, Chhapra) was the head operator in the boiler that burst. He was one of those who died in the accident. Lalan's son Vikas Yadav also works in this factory as a mixing helper. Vikas told the enquiry team that if the management had heeded his father's plea to change/repair the boiler, this tragedy would not have occurred.
Eyewitnesses
Mohd Shahid from the Bela Dhiranpatti told the team, “we were sitting inside our homes due to the cold; it was 9.40 AM, when we heard a thunderous blast. Huge pieces of iron started falling from the sky. There was a stampede. People standing outside ran inside their homes. There was fear all around. Buildings within a 5 km radius started shaking. It seemed as if an earthquake was about to occur”.
Local People Allege Hiding of Actual Numbers of Deaths
Workers' families and local people do not trust the numbers issued by the local administration with regard to deaths. They say that more than 150 workers were present in the factory on the morning of 26 December. The whereabouts of most of those workers is unknown. The management has released the number of dead as 7, and the number of injured also as 7. The management has not said how many workers were on duty in the factory at the time of the blast; neither have they provided a list of workers on duty.
There are more than 250 factories in the Bela Industrial Area with more than 40,000 workers. But mostly all the factories have a huge lack of safety standards and safety equipment. The Modi Noodles Factory where the blast occurred had not even got an NOC. Labour laws are not obeyed in any of the factories. Most of the work is on a contract basis. Workers are made to work 10-12 hours per day and wages are a meager 4000-5000 per month. There is not a single fire brigade in the entire Industrial Area, and neither is there a hospital. All this is happening with the connivance of the factory owner and administrative officers. The Nitish government and Industries Minister are responsible for this. Therefore it is necessary that the boiler blast and all the factories in the BIA should be probed by a high level team of specialists.
The factory owner Vikas Modi, his wife Shweta Modi, factory manager Uday Shankar, supervisor Digvijay Kumar, boiler operator, technicians and other unknown persons have been named as accused persons, but whitewashing of the incident is still going on.
CPIML Demands:
CPIML Bihar state secretary has said in a press conference that the administration is being dwarfed by the factory owner, there has been sheer negligence in the factory, a large number of workers have died for lack of safety, but the local administration is hiding the actual number of deaths. The party has demanded that the government should pay Rs 50 lakhs and a government job each to the families of the deceased, Rs 25 lakhs each to the injured persons, a high level enquiry into the incident, immediate arrest of the factory manager and a case of murder to be registered.
CPIML MLA Gopal Ravidas accused that the factory manager enjoys the protection of the government and BJP, hence there must be a high level probe into the incident. The enquiry team comprised Gopal Ravidas, Muzaffarpur District Secretary Krishna Mohan, Shatrughan Sahni, Aftab Alam, Fahad Zaman, Aslam Rahmani, Manoj Yadav, Mohd Aijaz, Akbar-e-Azam Siddiqui, Naushad Alam and Amod Paswan.
Earlier Accident:
Three years ago a factory fire in Bochahan (Muzaffarpur District) claimed the lives of 11 workers. The administration and government learnt no lesson from that accident. CPIML and AICCTU organized a protest march in Muzaffarpur city on 28 December, the eve of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s visit to the city on 29 December for his Samaj Sudhar Yatra. The CPIML holds the Chief Minister and Industries Minister accountable for this criminal negligence.
