JAIPUR:
As Rs 500 crore worth of fuel burned through the second day of the Jaipur inferno, there were two questions no one had answered
Jaipur fire satisfactorily. How did it happen? And how many had died in the blaze that started with a blast on Thursday evening?
Although officials have confirmed five deaths, six others present at the site at the time of the fire are feared dead. Five bodies have been recovered but the IOC employees are still untraced. Many more are critical in the city's hospitals.
``It's not known whether these employees are dead but they were at the depot during the time of the fire. Those declared dead are people who had been admitted to various hospitals since Thursday,'' Rajasthan home secretary Pradip Sen said.
During the day, petroleum minister Murli Deora visited the site but could not throw much light on what exactly triggered the killer blaze and how it spun out of control. He was resigned to the fact that there was no way but to let the one lakh kilolitres of fuel in IOC's 11 tankers at the oil depot in Sitapura Industrial Area to just burn out.
But experts were unanimous: the incident happened due to human negligence. There were other who said timely action could have prevented the scale of damage. ``There were alarms, and the smell of oil. That should have been enough to warn officials. They should have acted instantly. But it seems they took it easy and let things go out of control,'' said an expert from Jamnagar.
``We had heard the wails of a siren on the IOC premises hours before the fire and the blast. The entire area smelled of oil. Why is it then that preventive measures were not taken in time?'' said Mohammed Zabbal, who works at Genus, a factory near the IOC depot. His factory was gutted and he sustained splinter injuries and is now admitted at Sawai Man Singh Hospital.
On Thursday, IOC officials said that based on preliminary reports the fire broke out after a pipeline valve failed when petrol was being transferred from the IOC terminal to Bharat Petroleum's terminal just a little distance away.
While officials stuck to the leak theory, they found it difficult to pinpoint what provided the spark. Some suggested that the power which had been cut off at around 4.30 pm following reports of a gas leak from the depot was switched on again around 7.30 pm, before they had received the all-clear. Some others suggested that a minor earthquake triggered the blaze.
On Friday it was decided that a central committee would probe the blaze. The five-member team will be headed by former HPCL chairman and managing director, M B Lal. The committee is to submit its report in six weeks, Deora said. He was accompanied by Indian Oil chairman Sarthak Behuria, who has been instructed to personally oversee the operations.
The state has also set up a committee to assess the damages in nearby factories. Initial estimates suggest factories in the Sitapura area took Rs 300-crore hit because of the blaze.
The flames, though a bit subdued, have thrown up huge columns of thick, black smoke which are blocking sunlight. ``There is little we can do. The fuel has to burn itself out before we can start any operation,'' Deora said after an early morning inspection. Deora, on behalf of the IOC, also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the dead, Rs 2 lakh for those severely injured and Rs 1 lakh for those who suffered simple injuries.
Through the day fire experts of IOC from Mathura, Delhi, Panipat, and those from ONGC Hazira, just stood and watched the leaping flames. By afternoon an area of 5 km radius around the fire was cordoned off.
``There are chances of further blasts from the depot and that is why we do not want anyone to come near it. Moreover, the toxic fumes can be injurious to health,'' said district collector Kuldeep Ranka.
All educational institutions and industries in the area remained shut through the day. Even train and bus routes plying through the area were changed. The Mahatma Gandhi Hopsital that lies in the Sitapura area was vacated.
