New dimension to TEL probe

By Our Staff Reporter

VELLORE, AUG. 17. Even as the toll in the blast at the detonator unit building of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Explosives Ltd. (TEL) near Katpadi on Thursday rose to 24, the discovery of one more body of a person unaccounted for by the company has added a new dimension to the police investigation into the blast. Four of the injured including two women were still undergoing treatment at the CMC Hospital here.

While TEL officials accounted for only 27 persons comprising 24 present in building No. 3.02 housing the detonator unit and three in building No. 3.01 at the time of the explosion, the Vellore district Superintendent of Police, Mr. Pramod Kumar, today confirmed the presence of a 28th person in the ill-fated building. This pointed to the poor security arrangements in the factory which happens to be the only explosives factory in south India. While 23 bodies have been claimed by relatives, the lone body, that of the 28th person, is yet to be claimed.

Though the last word is yet to be said about the cause of the explosion, preliminary police investigations point to the negligence. Inquiries revealed that the formal Independence Day and Republic Day appeals of the chairman and managing director or general manager to the staff to adhere to safety norms in the factory have not been followed up with sincere efforts towards safety. At the time of the explosion, there were 12 permanent workers and 12 casual labourers in the detonator building. While the permanent workers were known for careful handling of the detonators and the fuse wire during the crimping (pressing) process, the casual labourers were not that careful while handling the materials.

Sources told The Hindu that the casual labourers have not been properly trained for safe handling of the explosives. Insiders said the casual labourers were in the habit of handling several boxes of the detonator shells simultaneously to finish their work quickly. Each box which is of the size of an audio cassette contains 100 shells. One hundred such boxes were kept in a case. Though small in size, only one box should be handled at a time. Police and explosives officials believe that the accident was caused by mishandling and possible dropping of a case or box. A small friction was enough to cause a terrible explosion. Excessive pressing of the wire with the shell in the process of inserting the fuse into the detonator shell could also lead to an explosion, it was stated.

The ironic aspect of the safety management, if any, in the factory was that there was no professional security management in the factory. While the security setup in public sector undertakings such as the Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd. (TNPL) and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) were headed by IPS officers, the security of a sensitive company such as TEL has been entrusted with unprofessional persons. There is a strong demand among a section of the staff that the security should be handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and an IPS officer posted to head the security unit in TEL to streamline the security arrangements and enhance the quality of safety of the workers.

The Katpadi police have registered a case against the TEL under the Indian Explosives Act and under Sections 285 I.P.C. (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 286 I.P.C. (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance). Meanwhile, the District Collector, Dr. A.C. Mohandoss, has ordered an inquiry by the district revenue officer (DRO), Mr. A. Bharathidasan into the accident under Section 9(1) of the Indian Explosives Act, and asked him to submit his report in a month.

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