By Admin 
There was huge chaos on Friday in Imlikheda Industrial Area, located about 8 kilometers away from the district headquarters in Chhindwara, when a massive fire broke out in ‘Gupta Industries’, a major PVC pipe factory here. Due to the presence of plastic material and chemicals, the fire took such a huge form that the entire factory premises spread over about 20 thousand square feet was engulfed in flames.
The black plume of smoke in the sky was so thick that it was clearly visible from a kilometer away, seeing which a huge crowd of nearby villagers and passers-by gathered. According to factory operator Prakash Gupta, the fire started at around 10 am due to a short circuit. He said, “We had installed a fire protection system in the factory, but unfortunately as soon as the fire broke out, the power supply was cut off. Due to no electricity, the pumps could not be started and we could not save anything even if we tried.”
Fire engines arrived about an hour after giving the information.
The operator also accused the Municipal Corporation of arriving late and said that fire brigade vehicles reached the spot about an hour after giving the information. Amidst the flames, the operator showed courage and broke the boundary wall of the office with a JCB and safely took out the cash worth Rs 4 lakh kept inside. It is estimated that goods worth Rs 40 to 50 lakh were burnt to ashes in this fire.
SDM Sudhir Jain remained deployed on the spot with the police force.
Seeing the seriousness of this incident, Kotwali TI Ashish Dhurve and SDM Sudhir Jain remained deployed on the spot along with the police force. SDM Sudhir Jain said, we received information about the fire at 12 noon. Immediately, apart from Chhindwara Municipal Corporation, fire brigades were also called from Amarwada, Chaurai and Parasia. A total of 12 fire brigades were taken help and the fire was controlled after about 4 hours of hard work by mixing foam in water. To keep other factories safe, flammable materials had already been removed from there.
Serious questions raised on safety standards
This incident of arson has exposed industrial safety. Municipal Corporation’s Fire Incharge Abhinav Dubey revealed that “Many other units of the area including this factory had not taken the mandatory ‘Fire Safety NOC’. They had been given notices by the Corporation several times in the past but the instructions were ignored. At present, the police administration is assessing the damage and technical investigation of the incident is going on.