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Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Telangana factory tragedy: 'Even gig workers get paid more than pharma graduates'
HYDERABAD: The blast in Sigachi Industries has raised questions over safety practices, regulatory compliances, and enforcement in the pharma manufacturing sector, The June 30 blast, which left 44 people dead and many more injured, is the latest in a string of accidents that the sector has had at regular intervals. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The highest offices of the govt need to send out a strong message to the entire industry that there will be zero tolerance for such incidents," said Ravi Udaya Bhaskar, former director general, Pharmexcil. "Regulatory authorities like the factories department, fire department, labour department, drugs controller, and boilers department should all be very strict and transparent. They should identify companies and conduct stringent risk assessment and risk-based inspections at regular intervals," said Bhaskar, DG, All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation. Bhaskar also points out that a major factor for accidents could be ill-trained personnel. "A majority of the industry employs low-skilled and low-paid workers. Though Telangana has over 100 pharmacy colleges and several degree colleges, BPharm, BSc, and MPharm graduates don't even get salaries between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 per month." "Salaries are so low that even Swiggy delivery persons may be earning more. Many companies are going for people who will work for even lesser salaries. So, in this process, they ship in unskilled migrant workers from other states," he added. Dinesh Abrol, retired chief scientist, said such incidents could also be linked to the way industrial policy developed post-2000. "Large pharma companies try to squeeze the smaller ones. The result is they don't have resources to make investments in safety and production control and end up cutting corners," he said, adding "Many times payments are not made in time, and the smaller players work with old machinery."
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Telangana factory blast: Sigachi accident deadliest to hit India's pharma sector in 100 years; NDRF terms it 'most challenging'
HYDERABAD: The Sigachi Industries blast in Sangareddy is the worst disaster to have rocked India's pharma manufacturing sector in its over 100-year history in terms of fatalities. Such was the impact of the blast that it not only knocked down the factory but also resulted in damages to factories located next door, including shattered glass, industry sources said. Till Monday, the blast and fire at Escientia Bio Pharma Ltd's factory at Anakapalli in Andhra Pradesh (AP) on August 21, 2024, which left 17 people dead, was counted as the worst incident to have hit the industry. In 2023, a blast had rocked the Atchutapuram plant of Sahiti Pharma in AP and left behind seven fatalities. In Dec 2022, four employees had died at Laurus Labs' facility at Visakhapatnam. "In my 35 years of experience as a regulator as well as former director general of Pharmexcil (Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India), I have never come across a pharma manufacturing accident with such a huge death toll. This has to be the largest pharma disaster in the country till date," Ravi Udaya Bhaskar, director general, All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation told TOI. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad Rescue efforts inadequate: Kin of missing staff Around 200 personnel from fire services, SDRF, along with 30 NDRF personnel, have conducted a comprehensive search of the wreckage. They have found no trace of any missing persons, said Y Nagi Reddy, director general, Telangana state fire services and disaster response. He added: 'The company management claims that only five are missing. It could be the missing workers did not report to work on Monday or were not on campus at the time of the accident. We are verifying their whereabouts.' Authorities are also not ruling out the possibility that the missing persons could be among the dead who had not been identified as yet. By Tuesday evening, identity of 14 bodies had been confirmed at the govt area hospital in Patancheru. Blood samples of the remaining were sent for DNA profiling to the forensic science laboratory to establish their identity, as they have been burnt beyond recognition. Challenging operation, say NDRF teams 'Both National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are still working at the site to clear the debris and hazardous material,' said Damodar Singh, assistant commandant (Telangana region) with NDRF, adding how the operation has been one of the most challenging rescue missions undertaken in the state. 'Our teams employed cutting equipment to break down the debris into smaller bits before clearing it with JCBs. The most demanding aspect is careful removal of debris while recovering bodies. It might take another day to completely clear out the debris and recover bodies that may have been trapped beneath the debris,' he said. NDRF officials also explained how the presence of hazardous substances hindered their operation, as the material caused metallic flames. 'The factory's 'pancake-style' collapse (where a building collapses floor by floor) has resulted in continuous flames erupting from under the wreckage,' said a senior official from NDRF. The kin of missing workers, however, claimed that the rescue efforts were inadequate. They alleged that the equipment and workforce at the location were insufficient, resulting in prolonged delays in retrieving the bodies. 'Authorities deployed only two JCBs which are not enough to locate so many missing people,' said K Sujatha, relative of a 22-year-old youth who is still missing. 'We visited four different hospitals too to verify if he was receiving treatment or was sent for post-mortem, but in vain.' Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
