Raipur. The time limit for submitting the investigation report of the arson case in the regional store of Gudhiyari of Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company has been extended by 15 days. This request was made by the committee, which has been accepted by the power company administration. The success achieved in preventing loss of life due to fire and saving personal properties of residents of nearby settlements has been appreciated by Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai and public representatives.
The fire broke out in the regional store at around 1 pm on April 5, which quickly spread to a huge extent due to the oil stored in the transformers and drums. Since it was a holiday, only security personnel were present there. The security personnel started efforts to extinguish the fire by taking the fire extinguishers available there and water from the training center and also informed the senior officials. Soon power companies Chairman P. Dayanand, MD Rajesh Kumar Shukla, ED Bhim Singh Kanwar, Sandeep Verma, Jyoti Nannore and a large number of officials reached there. Collector Gaurav Singh, Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Avinash Mishra, State Disaster Response Force chief etc. had reached the spot. On his instructions, the fire fighting force of various organizations including Municipal Corporation Raipur like Hindustan Petroleum, Mana Airport, Adani, Godavari, Heera etc. industrial groups had reached.
Rescue of 132 KV sub-station: There
is a 132 KV sub-station near the incident site, where the fire could have caused huge damage. If this sub-station collapses, the electricity supply to a large part of the city would also be disrupted. Therefore, there was a big priority to save it. The fire was prevented from moving in this direction using foam. In this way, great success was achieved in preventing fire accidents and its effects in a limited area.
Rescue in the colony, no loss of life,
there is a populated settlement near the fire accident. Regional MLA Rajesh Munat had taken charge here with the help of the district administration. MLA Munat’s team along with the administration was engaged in evacuating the people of the colony and making arrangements for their food, water etc. On one hand, this helped in increasing the courage of the people and on the other hand, it also helped in maintaining concentration in the work of extinguishing the fire. Loss of life could also be avoided by removing people from the incident site at the right time. MLA Munat has praised the administration for this. At the same time, the oil drums kept in the direction of the settlement were removed by the officers and employees with great risk and their lids were opened, otherwise it could have taken the form of a dangerous bomb explosion, due to which there was a possibility of loss of life and property.
The record safe
storage house is spread over an area of about 8 acres. Here, all types of transformers, new and old, are kept in the open. Along with this, meter, cable, oil, conductor etc. are also there. Apart from the office building located there, the record of the material kept in the store is also kept in the server. Records before the incident have been called for by the investigation committee. It has been said that physical assessment will be done after matching with the server records. Some paper documents, some registers etc. present at the spot were burnt but this did not create any significant hindrance in the physical verification of the stores. Due to rapid rescue, a lot of expensive items including more than 90 transformers have been saved, which can be used. Apart from this, the cause of the fire is also being investigated by the police. In view of all this, the inquiry committee demanded additional time of 15 days. The actual loss caused by the incident can be assessed only after the report of the inquiry committee comes.
On the very day of the incident, Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai had given instructions to investigate the incident by a high level investigation committee . The very next day, on 6th April, an investigation committee was constituted by Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company and investigation was started immediately as per the order. The Inquiry Committee has been ordered to investigate on these points: – In relation to the causes of the fire, in relation to the officer/employee/agency responsible for the said accident, in relation to the financial and material loss caused to the company due to the said accident. In 2017, the committee was given one week’s time to make suggestions regarding alternative arrangements for the operation of the warehouse and to prevent such and other accidents in future, but the committee has asked for an additional time of 15 days.
It is important to avoid rumours: Dayanand
Chhattisgarh State Power Companies Chairman and State Energy Secretary P. Dayanand has said that strict action will be taken against whoever is responsible for the accident. The inquiry committee has started its work with immediate effect. He has said that information is being received about rumors being spread by some selfish elements regarding the accident, which is not appropriate. The cause of the accident and the damage can be told only after investigation, but no negligence has been revealed in rescue, rehabilitation and management.
Prevention of loss of life and property is commendable: Chief Minister
Vishnudev Sai had visited the site of the incident on April 5 itself and inspected the works of prevention, rescue, rehabilitation etc. He described the success achieved with the help of the administration and other organizations in controlling the scale of fire within a few hours as commendable. CM Sai has also appreciated the way the private sector institutions, working shoulder to shoulder with the government and administration, provided fire brigades to extinguish the fire.
