Dera Bassi tragedy: Officials inspect ground zero, collect documents from plant

Gaurav Kanthwal

Mohali, April 25

A team led by Dera Bassi SDM Himanshu Gupta, Deputy Director (Factories) Narinder Pal Singh, officials of the Labour Department and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), and the area SHO today visited Federal Agro Industries Private Limited, Behera, and inspected the spot where four workers died due to asphyxiation in a sewage pit on April 21.

Among the roles delegated to officials, the Deputy Director (Factories) will ascertain whether or not the sewage pit was of required specifications and maps were approved. Also, information would be collected on whether the standard operating procedure (SOP) was being followed by the management or not.

The PPCB officials will examine the compliance of pollution norms by the unit as water was being pumped out of the pit and sent to treatment plants. They will further check the environmental pollution licenses and permissions of the unit.

The Labour Department officials will ascertain whether the deceased labourers were regular workers or on contract. If on contract, whether the contractor had the requisite licence to employ the workers. They will also examine how the next of kin of the deceased will be compensated.

SDM Gupta said: “We have collected all documents related to the unit from a representative of the owner and handed these over to the Deputy Director (Factories). A safety belt has been recovered from the scene and sent for verification. As the unit is shut till April 26, there were no workers in the plant today. So, the statements of workers present at the time of the accident will be recorded later.”

Unit owner Kaamil Qureshi, alias Bunty Qureshi; general manager PS Hameed and Shahid Hameed have been at large ever since the tragedy.

The Deputy Director (Factories) said the unit had not been inspected for the past two-three years as visits were computer generated through an online portal from the head office. “Inspection is done only if a complaint is registered by someone,” he said.

The administration officials conducting the magisterial probe also met some of local residents and complainant Surinder Singh, brother of victim Manak Singh, outside the meat plant. The residents claimed several incidents had taken place at the unit in the past, but since victims were migrant labourers most of the times, the matter was hushed up.

“If local residents complain, the management resorts to bullying,” a resident told the SDM. The officials assured them of a thorough probe to get to the bottom of the incident and prevent a repeat in the future.

Nearly 1,500 migrant workers from UP, Bihar and Nepal slog daily at Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 per month at the buffalo meat processing plant.

Roles delegated to officials

• Deputy Director (Factories) to ascertain if sewage pit was of required specifications and maps were approved; whether SOP was followed
• PPCB officials to examine compliance of pollution norms; check environmental pollution licences and permissions of the unit
• Labour Dept officials to ascertain whether victims were regular workers or on contract and if contractor had licence to employ workers; will work out relief

No checking in past two-three years

• Plant had not been inspected for past two-three years, said an official; inspection is carried out if a complaint is filed by someone
• Local residents told officials despite similar incidents in past, matter was hushed up as victims were usually migrant labourers
• If local residents complained, management resorted to bullying, claimed a resident; the officials have promised to get to the bottom of the matter

Unit shut, Workers’ statement to be recorded later

As the unit is shut till April 26, there were no workers on Tuesday. So, the statements of workers present at the time of accident will be recorded later. — Himanshu Gupta, Dera Bassi SDM