Pawan Kalyan stresses on detailed investigation into VSP accident

Visakhapatnam: For over 35 years, an incident of this magnitude has not happened anywhere, and a comprehensive report will be submitted by a three-man committee from Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL), said Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan.

After interacting with accident victims of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant undergoing treatment at KIMS Icon Hospital in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, Pawan Kalyan said the committee will probe every detail of the incident, including safety audits conducted so far and protocols followed at the workplace. “Experts will consider all angles of the incident before submitting the final report,” he mentioned.

Plant employees brought to Pawan Kalyan's notice that a similar incident occurred in the adjacent department of the plant the day before. However, since it happened at night, no one was injured and no casualty was reported. “After examining the incident spot, I felt the plant needs upgrading,” opined Pawan Kalyan.

The Deputy Chief Minister noted that such industrial accidents happen in France and China. “But ladle blast incident is something happening for the first time in the steel industry. Machinery-wise, Bhilai Steel Plant and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant appear to be similar, while the rest of the steel plants have new and upgraded machineries,” he observed.

Twice a year, Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts register an industrial accident. There is a need to look beyond the incidents and probe into the recurring causes of industrial accidents in detail so that they can be prevented from happening, Pawan Kalyan stressed, underlining that monitoring what kind of measures are in place to prevent industrial accidents from repeating plays a critical role. “Whether safety audits are happening at prescribed intervals, whether experts are offering valid suggestions to overcome system failures, whether the management is considering measures to address the lapses and how the government is supervising them have to be examined,” the Deputy Chief Minister underlined, informing that soon he would be meeting the workers and union leaders of the plant to find out the ground realities of the VSP.

Reiterating that he is one among those who does not want VSP to get privatised, Pawan Kalyan said, “Efforts will be taken to resolve the plant issues by discussing with the workers and challenges faced by them.”