Day after blast, opposition alleges safety lapses at Nagpur factory; exploitation of workers

Opposition legislators in Maharashtra on Monday alleged lapses by Solar Industries India, where a blast claimed nine lives a day before, in ensuring the safety of workers and demanded action against Industrial Safety Department officials.

Opposition legislators in Maharashtra on Monday alleged lapses by Solar Industries India, where a blast claimed nine lives a day before, in ensuring the safety of workers and demanded action against Industrial Safety Department officials.

Raising the issue in the Legislative Council, they also said workers at the factory have been exploited for long and not paid minimum wages as per norms.

A Congress MLC said similar incidents had happened in the company in the past while opposition leader Ambadas Danve (Shiv Sena-UBT) said mandatory safety drills were not conducted.

Mr. Danve demanded a report from the Nagpur district collector to fix accountability and demanded action against officials concerned from the Industrial Safety Department.

Nine people were killed and three others seriously injured in a massive blast at the explosives manufacturing factory in Chakdoh in Nagpur district on Sunday.

Congress MLC Shashikant Shinde moved a point of information in the legislative council where he spoke about the safety record of the factory.

"This isn't the first time that an explosion occurred in the company. There were two such incidents in the past," Mr. Shinde said.