New Delhi: The government on Tuesday ordered a
safety audit of all oil and gas installations across the
country after the massive fire at the Indian Oil Corp`s fuel
depot in Jaipur which is raging even five days after breaking
out.
The decision was taken at a meeting called by Petroleum
Minister Murli Deora to review safety measures in oil
installations with top experts from the public, private and
multi-nationals firms participating.
Deora said all oil and gas installations in the country
will carry out the self safety audits by December 31.
"All oil and gas companies in the country must have their
standard operating procedures (SOPs) for operations and
maintenance practices," he said.
After the special safety audit, all oil and gas
installations will have their safety audits done on a
quarterly basis. "All major as wellas minor incidents in any
such installation/setups in the country including that of
private companies will be reported to Oil Industry Safety
Directorate," he said.
Deora said a seven-member committee headed by former HPCL
Chairman M B Lal will submit a report on the Jaipur fire in 60
days.
Reports from Jaipur said two tanks from which smoke was
billowing out have about 6 feet and 10 feet of petrol to burn
and this could be over only by tomorrow.
A survey and damage control exercise by the local
administration is also underway.
Deora for removal of oil depots from population areas
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Tuesday said that oil depots would be removed from population areas and asked oil companies to make a list of such depots.
The Petroleum Minister had also announced the formation of a seven-member committee to probe the Jaipur fire.
In a statement, Deora said that the committee would submit its report by December 31. In an attempt to prevent any such incident in future, the committee will conduct a tri-monthly security check of all the fuel depots across the country.
IOC also sought an alternate site to rebuild the burnt down fuel depot
at Jaipur, with the reconstruction likely to cost the company
Rs 200-250 crore, its Chairman Sarthak Behuria said today.
"We have flagged with the state government our requirement
of alternate site close enough to feed the Jaipur market," he
told reporters here.
"About 32,000 kl of fuel was burnt in the fire for which
we have insurance cover. As far as the terminal is concerned,
I would like to comment as insurance claim is to be filed," he
said.
Earlier yesterday, an executive of a private company filed a complaint against the IOC over the depot fire that started on October 29 and killed 11 people and injured over 150. With four of the 11 tanks in the depot still ablaze on the sixth day, the IOC has been charged with criminal negligence.
The FIR (first information report), was filed on Monday by Pratipal Singh, an employee of Genus Power Infrastructure Limited, a factory that is situated near the IOC depot, a police officer told the media today.
"We have lodged a case under Section 304 A, which relates to causing death by negligence, and other appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code," he said.
A massive fire broke out at IOC’s fuel depot in Sitapura industrial area in the outskirts of Jaipur and huge flames shot into the air amid billowing smoke as hundreds of people in the villages in and around the depot panicked and fled from their homes. The fire also spread to some industrial units in a radius of three km destroying them.
District Magistrate of Jaipur Kuldeep Ranka said late Monday that fire is slowly abating and the area around 700-800 meters away from the site will be open for the factory owners to assess losses.
“Fire in four tankers of Indian Oil Depots is still there. Fire has come down to large extent in two tankers of diesel, but fire is still raging in two tankers of petrol. The main decision, which was taken yesterday, was to open the area around 700-800 meters away from the fire site,” Ranka said.
Bureau Report
