MP: Harda Fire Tragedy Rocks House, Yadav Assures Stern Action Against Guilty
Bhopal: The recent incident of blast in a firecracker factory in Harda in Madhya Pradesh in which 11 people were killed on Thursday rocked the Madhya Pradesh assembly with the Opposition Congress demanding a judicial probe into it.
Participating in the debate on the issue in the house, Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat said that the erring officers responsible for the tragic incident must be taken to task.
He questioned how the firecracker factory in Harda was allowed to run despite the order issued by the local additional district magistrate to seal it for lack of safety measures and violation of factory rules.
Mr Rawat said that the licence of the factory was suspended twice. But, the local divisional commissioner stayed the suspension order, allowing the factory to run.
The Congress leader claimed that many people were still found missing. A probe should be done to find out the actual death toll in the incident.
It was not yet clear as to how many workers were working in the factory at the time of the incident.
Mr Rawat said that removal of the Harda district collector and superintendent of police from their posts after the incident was not enough. A thorough probe should be done to find out who was trying to shield the guilty in the incident.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Umang Singhar demanded a judicial probe into the incident to fix the accountability on the erring officers and the guilty in the incident.
Pandemonium prevailed in the house when the Opposition bench insisted on their demand for a judicial probe into the incident, forcing the speaker to adjourn the assembly for some time.
Later, the Congress members staged a walkout in the house when their demand for a judicial probe was turned down.
Speaking on the issue in the house, chief minister Mohan Yadav said that he took prompt action by rushing fire tenders from other districts to douse the fire in the factory.
Besides, more than 50 ambulances from other districts were rushed to the spot to take the injured to various hospitals for their treatment.
He assured that stern action would be taken against the officers found responsible for the incident.
Mr Yadav said that a total of 311 firecracker factories in the state have been inspected by the local authorities so far and of them 20 have been sealed.