Even as a boiler explosion in state-run NTPC on Wednesday killed 29 and left several others critically injured, official data shows 1,660 people in the country have lost lives in factory or machine-related accidents in India between 2013 and 2016.
The data also reveals that 4,045 people have received fatal injuries in Indian factories during this period. While the NTPC has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, experts suspect the clinker formation in the boiler had led to the accident, which they say should have been cleaned to avert the disaster.
"For instance, the safety of boilers in plants should be periodically checked and should be audited by a third party technical committee comprising experts in boilers. In some states, the factories inspector and the boilers inspector are the same person, whereas it should always be different," an expert dealing with boilers said, on condition of anonymity.
The periodic recurrence of industrial accidents in India proves the point. For instance, in May this year, two labourers were killed in the Burnpur plant of SAIL's IISCO.
Last year, three engineers were killed and 24 were left injured in a boiler blast at a thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh's Annupur district.
Similarly, five people died and nearly 100 were left injured in a chemical factory explosion in Maharashtra's Thane and three people were killed and five were injured in a boiler explosion in Chembur's RCF plant in Mumbai.
Experts said that the issues of industrial safety are far from addressed in India and there is a definite gap in the requirements to be met for occupational safety. "This is not the first time that such an accident has happened in our country and ever since the Bhopal accident in 1984, several such have occurred without proper closure for the workers affected. There is a gap when it comes to occupational safety issues and awareness on occupational hazards," said Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link, a non-profit organisation, an advocacy group working on safe use and disposal of toxic substances.
The Supreme Court (SC), while hearing a public interest litigation filed in 2005, addressed the issues of occupational health and safety issues of workers in coal-fired thermal power plants. On SC's orders, the National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad, constituted a 17-member expert committee to look into the issue and submitted a detailed report. The report prepared in 2010 observed and made specific recommendations on the absence of certain safeguards for workers of coal-fired power plants. These pertained to inhalation of coal dust, heat, radiation, vibrations and physical hazards.
The report stressed that Inhalation of coal dust might result in development of dust related morbidity and non-pneumoconiotic persistent respiratory morbidity. The report had also then noted that no specific standards on health and safety issues are specially prescribed for coal-power plants.
Despite several laws governing the safety of factory workers such as the Factories Act 1948, Disaster Management Act 2005 and Petroleum Act 1934, Explosives Act 1884, their implementation has always been a problem. Advocate Choudhary Ali Zia Kabir said there are industry specific rules and regulations in place but most of the time, on-ground implementation remains a problem.
"Look at the manual scavengers in Delhi. Despite the law providing for their safety gears, many don't get them," he said, adding that there are a vast number of court cases where factory workers are still working to get their compensation dues.
