Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) M Ravi was removed from his post and two senior officials were suspended on 10 October after a blast at the steel plant that claimed lives of 13 employees.
Following this development, CEO of Steel Authority of India Limited’s (SAIL) Durgapur Steel Plant in West Bengal, Arun Kumar Rath, was appointed as the new CEO on Thursday, 11 October.
Earlier, Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh had made the announcement that the new appointments will be done after he visited the injured in the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Bhilai.
Singh also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 30 lakh for the relatives of the deceased, Rs 15 lakh for the ones who were seriously injured and Rs 2 lakh for those who have received minor injuries in the accident.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
On Tuesday, 9 October, at least nine people were killed and 14 others injured in the gas pipeline blast at the Bhilai Steel Plant of state-owned SAIL in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, reported ANI. Among the injured, two others later succumbed to their injuries at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital, taking the death toll in the blast to 11, an official said on Wednesday.
The explosion took place around 11:00 am in a gas pipeline connected to the coke oven section of the plant in Bhilai town, located around 30 km away from the capital, Inspector General of Police (Durg Range) GP Singh told PTI.
As per preliminary information, over 24 employees were working at the spot when the accident occurred, Singh said.
THE IMPACT
Police personnel and a rescue team rushed to the spot and all victims were shifted to a local hospital.
Meanwhile, speaking to ANI, MoS Steel Vishnudeo Sai said that a sudden fire at the site had led to the accident. “An internal committee of four members has been constituted. External committee will also be formed soon,” he said.
Rescue operation was still underway at the plant, operated by the state-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
THE BACKGROUND
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in June dedicated the modernised and expanded Bhilai Steel Plant to the nation. As per SAIL's website, the Bhilai Steel Plant is India's sole producer and supplier of world class rails for the Indian Railways, including 260 metre long rails. They are also a major producer of a large variety of wide and heavy steel plates, and structural steel.
With an annual production capacity of 3.153 MT of saleable steel, the plant also specialises in other products such as wire rods and merchant products.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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