Minister flags lack of safety at Nagpur explosives unit where blast killed 19; company MD held

NAGPUR: (Mar 3) A day after a powerful blast at a detonator making unit in Nagpur district killed 19 workers, a senior Maharashtra minister on Monday said prima facie there was "negligence" on the part of the private company operating the facility as it failed to follow safety measures.

Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule insisted that besides the firm, SBL Energy Ltd,

accountability for the tragedy will also be fixed on officials of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) and the labour commissionerate.