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The incident occurred at the melting shop of DSP today morning during mixing of additive ferro- manganese with the hot metal kept inside the
ladle pot. The laddle exploded while charging the additive and the hot liquid metal splashed all over the site. The control cabin, located just above the victim
ladle caught fire and the liquid metal covered the cabin where the operators, the timer and the shift in charge were housed. Timer Pasupati Bauri (50) who sustained severe injury died on the spot and the shift in charge, Dipak Chakraborty and Sajal Gupta, an worker were rushed to DSP’s main hospital with critical burn injury.
The CITU and INTUC affiliated steel plant workers broke out in protest against the alleged negligence by the authority of this steel plant. Agitated workers ransacked
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file picture of boiler at DSP
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the plant site and the production of the melting unit was stopped.
Nilotpal Roy, Executive Director & General Manager (Steels), P. K. Sahu faced workers’ wrath when they went to inspect the mishap site. Sahu was assaulted by the INTUC workers. Both the top executives were detained in their offices till this evening. The trade union members alleged that the steel melting unit alone has witnessed as many as 20 casualties during the past three years. The CITU secretary, P. K. Das alleged, the mishap was a result of acute negligence by the DSP management. He said, "how could the concerned officer allow charging of additive when the ladle was full. The explosion was a result of that. This should be foiled." Falguni Dawn, joint secretary, INTUC alleged, "every time they form a committee and the report never come out. The culprit officers are never punished."
The trade unions has raised finger at the lapses by P. K. Mitra, the Deputy General Manager of the `steel melting shop' who also chairs as the head of the plant safety committee. The plant incidentally had earned ISO safety certification years back for its greater performances. The DSP authority meanwhile has stated that the incident was mere an accident and the executive director, Nilotpal Roy said, "we should not personify the fault. We have formed a fact finding committee and the offender should not be spared."
The Durgapur industrial sector had witnessed workers death inside a private iron rod manufacturing unit last week when hot liquid iron boiled over and hurt three contract labourers. The administration has initiated a probe against the mishap and the local Coke Oven police station has recorded a case of negligence against the private factory owner.
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