Odisha court fines Bhushan Rs 10 lakh for 2013 mishap

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Dhenkanal, Apr 7:

The Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Odisha’s district headquarters town of Dhenkanal today imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd in connection with the blast furnace mishap at its Meramundali plant in 2013 in which a worker was killed 19 others were injured.

Sources said the court imposed the fine on the errant company for failing to strictly adhere to laws pertaining to health, environment and safety.

The court gave its verdict while adjudicating a case filed on the basis of a report submitted by the State Directorate of Factories and Boilers in context of the mishap.

The Directorate, in its report, had charged the company with violation of safety measures at its plant site which it said had led to the accident.

It may be recalled here that one person was killed and 19 others were injured in a deadly explosion at the slag pit during the trial run of blast furnace No.2 on November 19, 2013.

However, unofficial sources had then said that the death toll was much higher and the company had suppressed facts on the toll.