Committee to probe fire accident at Pirangut industrial unit
Officials of the PMRDA will be part of the four-member committee that will ascertain the cause of the fire.
Pune district collector has initiated an inquiry into the fire accident at an industrial plant that has claimed 18 lives in Pirangut area under Mulshi tehsil of Pune on Monday evening. Officials of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) will be part of the four-member committee that will ascertain the cause of the fire and whether all safety-related compliances were in place.
Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh after visiting the industrial unit where the fire broke out said, “I have ordered an inquiry into the fire tragedy. Sub-divisional magistrate of Maval will head the committee, which will have officials from industrial safety unit of MIDC and fire brigade under PMRDA.” The orders were given following instructions from deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune district, said in a written statement, “Even if the fire has been doused, the cooling process is on. Only after it is complete can the reason be determined. The inquiry will provide the reason for the fire and fix responsibility for it.”
The committee will be headed by Sandesh Shirke, sub-divisional officer with magisterial powers, and will consist of an official of MIDC industrial safety department, and official of PMRDA, and fire chief of PMRDA, according to the district collector.
”Our line of inquiry will be about fact-finding - what caused the fire, chain of events and how many were affected,” said Shirke.
All the victims are from nearby localities. Therefore, relatives of missing workers were available for identification. However, the people who found the bodies could not even identify the gender of those found.
“The bodies are charred and it is difficult to ascertain their identity. The floor of the company is also destroyed,” said Shirke.