The tank blast at the factory of Zuari Agro Chemicals factory at Zuarinagar that left three workers dead on Tuesday has not only triggered panic in Sancoale but also thrown open some critical questions with regards to safety and protocols. While authorities tried to allay fears by asserting that the tank was empty, there were no convincing answers on what basis did the contractor choose to use a hot works gas cutting machine on the tank and why did the company not have its secondary check since the job was contracted.
Even as the incident is being probed, the explosion has opened up a Pandora’s box that points to criminal negligence, carelessness and complete disregard for requisite protocols while dealing with combustive gas storage containers. There is every need that responsibility must be fixed and those responsible must be brought to book, and ZACL cannot absolve itself even if the job is contracted.
While the investigation takes its course, the blast points to a basic systemic failure of putting in place stringent checks and balances on storage tanks and gas pipelines, especially since these are housed in very sensitive and populated areas where even a minor miscalculation could trigger a catastrophe. Goa continues to be in a state of helplessness in industrial tragedies, especially gas-related incidents that have momentarily lit a spark of seriousness, nothing beyond that. The government boasts of a disaster management plan to contain the damage caused by natural calamities, but when it comes to industrial disasters, it has fallen way short of tightening the nuts and bolts.
Goa has been a witness to several industrial accidents in the past. Earlier in January this year, timely intervention by the fire brigade officials prevented a major fire tragedy at Sancoale following a leakage of compressed natural gas (CNG) pipeline after it melted due to a fire incident. The worst case was when a naphtha pipeline burst at Dhaktollem-Vasco on August 19, 2011, leading to a fire, killing five people including two teenagers. There was a cylinder blast at a factory in Cuncolim Industrial Estate that killed one worker in 2021, while an ammonia leakage in a fish meal factory claimed another young life in 2020. Also, several ice-manufacturing units store ammonia raising questions about the security of lives. It appears that lessons have not been learnt from the past tragedies while everyone keeps passing the buck and hunting for scapegoats.
The high-intensity tanker blast at ZACL which killed three workers should be a serious wake-up call for the authorities and the government to put a strategic plan in place, especially for areas in and around the port town where chemical and fuel storage tanks have been installed close to densely populated areas. Timely containment of such disasters could be a matter of life and death to thousands around these sites. It's time the State government puts its mind to working out ways to address issues of industrial accidents and gas leaks, rather than merely telling people not to panic.
