Andhra Pradesh government will overhaul the third party safety audit in factories to ensure overall safety at the premises. (Image: DC)
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh government will overhaul the third party safety audit in factories to ensure overall safety at the premises. For the purpose, it will rope in private agencies having more than 20 years of experience to come up with an action plan.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu held a review meeting with officials following the death of 17 workers at the Escientia pharma unit in Atchutapuram SEZ. He issued a series of directions to officials to follow scrupulously, so that recurrence of such mishaps could be avoided.
In the wake of the CM’s orders, officials of factories and other line departments are conducting meetings all over the state. They are discussing measures to be taken on top priority to ensure safety at factories.
When contacted, factories and labour minister Vasamsetti Subash said, “We are giving top priority to overhaul the third party safety audit in factories by engaging private agencies with requisite expertise and having over 20 years of experience in safety audit.”
The minister slammed the previous YSR Congress regime for making third party safety audit in factories a farce by engaging agencies of its choice with no proper monitoring mechanism. He alleged corruption in safety audit has resulted in compromising safety at factories.
Sources in the factories department say there is a high concentration of hazardous units, especially in Anakapalli district. The district has 143 units, unlike in Telangana, where industrial units are spread over Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar districts.
A source indicated that too much concentration of hazardous units in a given area could result in mishaps due to inadequate supervision of their functioning on a regular basis.
Authorities said the ongoing district level meetings with all stakeholder departments are expected to give them adequate exposure to the challenges being faced. This will enable formulation of better plans on how to avoid industrial mishaps with improved coordination and supervision in industrial units.
Vizianagaram deputy chief inspector of factories G.V.V.S. Satyanarayana said, “Based on circumstantial evidence gathered from Escientia, it is almost confirmed that MTBE vapour cloud explosion caused the mishap.”
In the wake of the CM’s orders, officials of factories and other line departments are conducting meetings all over the state. They are discussing measures to be taken on top priority to ensure safety at factories.
When contacted, factories and labour minister Vasamsetti Subash said, “We are giving top priority to overhaul the third party safety audit in factories by engaging private agencies with requisite expertise and having over 20 years of experience in safety audit.”
The minister slammed the previous YSR Congress regime for making third party safety audit in factories a farce by engaging agencies of its choice with no proper monitoring mechanism. He alleged corruption in safety audit has resulted in compromising safety at factories.
Sources in the factories department say there is a high concentration of hazardous units, especially in Anakapalli district. The district has 143 units, unlike in Telangana, where industrial units are spread over Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar districts.
A source indicated that too much concentration of hazardous units in a given area could result in mishaps due to inadequate supervision of their functioning on a regular basis.
Authorities said the ongoing district level meetings with all stakeholder departments are expected to give them adequate exposure to the challenges being faced. This will enable formulation of better plans on how to avoid industrial mishaps with improved coordination and supervision in industrial units.
Vizianagaram deputy chief inspector of factories G.V.V.S. Satyanarayana said, “Based on circumstantial evidence gathered from Escientia, it is almost confirmed that MTBE vapour cloud explosion caused the mishap.”
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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