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With chemical companies not following norms, Dombivli MIDC a ticking bomb: NGO

The NGO said that many times in the past it has taken up the issue of residents' safety with the MIDC but in vain.

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Thursday’s chemical factory blast in Dombivli, which killed four and injured 150, leaves behind a trail of destruction of property and human suffering
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Dombivli's MIDC area is a ticking time bomb with 99.9% chemical companies not following industry safety norms, according to NGO Vanashakti.

Thursday's boiler blast in Probace enterprises in the area has made everybody question the feasibility of residential and industrial cohabitation. This is said to be the only MIDC with a residential zone. "The blast has proved how dangerous it is for residents to live alongside industries," said Ashwin Aghor from Vanashakti.

The NGO said that many times in the past it has taken up the issue of residents' safety with the MIDC but in vain. "The factories in MIDC do not leave margin area and most chemical plants keep their boilers in that area. Margin area is the space you leave for rescue operations to be carried out," Aghor said.

In fact, there were six companies adjacent to Probace Enterprises without any margin area. Hence, when the blast took place, all of them were affected by it.

"These companies do not follow industry safety rules, making it life-threatening for workers and residents in the area," said Aghor. "Today the blast was in a chemical company and hence the repercussions were not that much.

Had it been a textile industry, the devastation would have been much more with cloth spreading the fire fast."

The incident has come as a wake-up call for many residents in the area, who are now getting firm about their safety. "There should be a safety audit of all the chemical and textile companies in MIDC. Otherwise, please take MIDC elsewhere," said Ketan Bondre, a resident.

When called, MIDC executive engineer SS Jagtap said that looking into the safety norms of industries is not their responsibility. "The industrial safety department of the state has to ensure that industries are adhering to the safety norms," he said.

Jagtap added that industries have been here since 1964 and that it's the people who have come and gone after that. "These residential buildings have been constructed by people by encroaching on our land."

Thane's guardian minister Eknath Shinde has appealed to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and industry minister Subhash Desai to shift dangerous companies away from residential areas. "To avoid occurrences of such instances in the future, we will take immediate action to shift dangerous companies out of here," said Shinde.

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