Bharuch blast exposes massive safety violations in Gujarat's industrial hub
Chronic rule-breaking, weak inspections and staff shortages are pushing Bharuch’s chemical belt into a cycle of frequent, deadly industrial accidents
The impact of an intensely powerful blast from an industrial accident at Bharuch district, in the early hours of November 12, was felt in two neighbouring villages 20 km away.
The accident, which occurred at 2.17 am at the VK Pharmachem facility at Sakhya GIDC, killed three people and injured 25, two of whom are still under treatment in Vadodara.
Four days later, even as the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) found massive safety violations at the blast site, the company owners are yet to visit the site or meet the victims.
In its report submitted late on November 15, the GPCB stated, “The blast occurred during solvent distillation involving toluene in the reactor. The reactor at the site had completely ruptured but the boiler remained intact suggesting the cause of accident to be the reactor failure and not boiler blast.”
Major safety violations
“Reactors that contain highly volatile chemical mixtures require stringent monitoring of pressure, temperature, rupture discs and automatic control valves along with regular cleaning of the residue. Any failure of any one of the above steps can lead to the explosion of the reactor. Prima facie it seems that in the case of VK Pharmachem, the blast occurred due to improper cleaning of the reactor between two batches of chemical mixing,” the report stated.
What ails industrial safety in Gujarat
♦ Factories routinely flout key safety norms
♦ Workers often housed inside factory premises
♦ Inspection units severely understaffed
♦ Low prosecution rates if there is no visible criminal intent
Additionally, the investigating team found five workers sleeping on the upper floor of the factory. Out of the five, three died due to the impact of the reactor blast and two were grievously burned by the chemical. The two injured workers are currently undergoing treatment.
Also read: Sigachi Pharma blast: Bodies charred, devastated kin await identification at mortuary
Per safety rules, the workers should not be residing within factory premises, the report pointed out, adding that to procure licences, factories are mandated to provide accommodation to workers. “However, the said rule was violated,” read the GPCB report.
GPCB to take action
Reportedly, VK Pharmachem was functioning without getting all clearances from GPCB. RB Barad, GPCB Chairman, told The Federal that the company's pre-licence inspection report, which was sent to the headquarters in Gandhinagar last December, was under perusal.
“But the company has begun its operation without getting complete clearance from our office. We will take action against the owners and submit the report to the police as well for further legal action,” he said.
A detailed report will also be submitted later this week by another nodal body, the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH).
Disturbing pattern
The recent investigation into the industrial accident at Bharuch GIDC reveals a disturbing pattern of factories flouting norms leading to fatal industrial accidents.
The Bharuch-Ankaleshwar belt, the hub of pharma and chemical factories, appear prone to such incidents that are not only claiming the lives of hapless workers but also impacting neighbouring villages that often require to be evacuated.
Also read: Massive fire engulfs chemical factory in Gujarat's Bharuch, firefighting underway
DISH data shows that between 2020 and 2024, 90 industrial accidents took place in the area, claiming the lives of over 130 workers. In 2019, 2018 and 2018, there were 188, 236 and 230 industrial accidents, respectively.
The new normal
In conversation with The Federal, Rohit Prajapati, a Vadodara-based environmentalist, recalled how, when he was travelling in Bharuch in June 2022 as part of a fact-finding committee to study an industrial accident at a chemical factory in Dahej, the team heard a massive blast.
“I was informed that a blast had occurred at Deepak Nitrite, a chemical factory near Nandesari village in Vadodara. I immediately turned my vehicle towards Nandesari. After two days of talking to the locals and families of those injured in the accident, I was about to leave when I heard there was another blast at the Valiant Organic factory in Sarigam GIDC in Valsad district. Three blasts had happened in chemical factories within around 50 km of each other in three days,” he said.
“This pattern of accidents is the new normal at the Bharuch-Ankaleshwar belt, which is the hub of chemical manufacturing factories in Gujarat,” he added wryly.
Inspection staff shortage
According to Prajapati, the GPCB monitors pollution levels outside the industry premises, while the DISH is accountable for monitoring pollution within the workplace. It regularly inspects the factories to ensure they are following safety protocols and the workers are operating in a safe environment and are not under threat from any hazardous substance, he added.
However, Prajapati said, the DISH, which was earlier called the Factory Inspectorate, is almost defunct now in most districts owing to shortage of staff and its small teams are just not sufficient to carry out the task.
The Bharuch unit of the DISH that is responsible to oversee 2,000 small and 75 large and medium factories has been functioning with just five staff members for more than 15 years.
Inadequate monitoring
“The sanctioned staff strength for the Bharuch office is five, out of which four are staff workers and one deputy director,” said DB Gamit, Deputy Director, Industrial Safety and Health, Bharuch.
In his view, a team of four is not enough to monitor 22 smaller GIDCs in Bharuch-Ankaleshwar belt and the main GIDC at Ankaleshwar that houses more than 2,000 chemical factories, which are spread across 1600 hectares.
“To compound matters, the Bharuch unit is also responsible for four GIDCs in the adjoining Narmada district,” said Gamit, who felt that ideally, there should be one surprise visit to each factory every month and an inspection every three months.
“But the lack of staff results in inadequate monitoring and inspections of the factories,” Gamit told The Federal.
Low prosecution rates
A 2021 report by the Labour Bureau, which falls under the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, noted that Gujarat records one of the lowest factory inspection rates in the country, despite being among India’s most industrialised states.
Just 19.33 per cent of factories categorised as general and 19.81 per cent categorised as hazardous factories including the chemical factories were inspected between 2020-2021, the report noted.
Jagdish Patel, an environmental and workers’ rights activist, rued that the norms and regulations of the Factory Act are completely ignored. In case of an industrial accident in Gujarat, local police is the lead investigator instead of GPCB or DISH, he told The Federal.
“The police’s job is to establish criminal intent. If there is no criminal intent, the police will not prosecute. The responsibility to investigate the lapses and negligence lies with the GPCB and DISH," he said.