MARGAO
With the ammonia gas tragedy claiming the life of a young worker and the Cuncolim police investigations still inconclusive, Cuncolim MLA Clafacio Dias has joined the bandwagon to demand inspection of all the units operating in the Cuncolim Industrial Estate.
While no agency, including the police, labour department and IDC, is believed to have initiated any probe to find out whether workers are being accommodated inside the factories, the Cuncolim MLA ruled out such accommodation and said only restroom facility should be allowed.
“Just imagine what would have happened if the ammonia tank had to explode that night. People residing around the industrial estate would have been the worst hit. The industrial unit owners as well as the authorities should know that the estate is not located in a jungle, but in a densely populated locality,” Clafacio told the media on Monday.
Expressing grave concern over incident, the Cuncolim MLA said he has requested the government to check whether any of the units have been operating without following the Pollution Control Board norms.
“The government should not show any mercy to the owners running the hazardous units without permissions and risking the lives of the workers as well as the residents staying in the immediate vicinity,” he demanded.
Asserting he would be at the forefront to demand justice for the dead and hardships faced by the local populace, the Cuncolim MLA said that the intervening Covid-19 pandemic has come in the way of the government’s plan to set up a fire station in the Cuncolim IDC.
“The Chief Minister had promised to set up a fire station in the IDC, but the pandemic has affected the plans. I will follow this up with the CM to ensure the fire station takes shape at the earliest,” he said.
