Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Over the previous five years, the State has documented 175 industrial accidents, of which more than 50% were caused by unsafe acts or working circumstances. Twenty workers lost their lives in these accidents, while numerous more were hurt.
The occurrences happened in different production units, according to Minister for Factories and Boilers Nilkanth Halarnkar, in response to an unstarred question from MLA Carlos Ferreira. Nine at the Goa Shipyard, two at the Naval Aircraft Yard, five at Nestle India Ltd., four at Cipla divisions, and up to fifteen at MRF units are among the instances that fall under this category.
While unsafe working conditions were the primary cause of most fatal accidents, two incidents occurred in 2022: one involved a harmful gas leak from a nearby industry, and another involved the collapse of a compound wall at Marine Electricals (India) Ltd. as a result of soil erosion. Seven incidents that happened between April and June of this year are all still under investigation.
Ironically, eight cases have been awaiting trial before various judicial authorities in the last five years, although only two instances have resulted in convictions. In the remaining cases, the offenders were either not questioned or not prosecuted.
The minister acknowledged that dangerous circumstances were the cause of the large fire at Berger Becker Coating Pvt Ltd in January 2023, which took many days to put out. The matter is still under consideration at JMFC, Mapusa.
The response added that Goa is home to about 155 enterprises that handle and store dangerous materials. The government was unable to supply the dates of the most recent inspections for roughly ten factories, some of which were inspected in 2018, 2019, and 2021, among other years.
