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KARACHI, Aug 1: An interim inquiry report into the July 24 boiler explosion at a towel dyeing and bleaching factory in North Karachi — allegedly set up on an encroached plot — sheds light on the poor capacity of the provincial government to handle such serious cases.
The explosion killed nine people and injured more than two dozen others.
The report also brings out the total lack of coordination between the provincial government and the city district government and the area town council.
Prepared by Sindh Labour Department Director Saeed Awan, Manpower and Training Director Karim Bux Siddiqui and Boiler Inspector of the Industries Department Anwar Ali, the interim report recommends the establishment of factories with boilers only in the designated industrial areas.
But the report is silent on the presence of similar unregistered factories with boilers in Karachi and other parts of the province that threaten the population.
“We cannot demolish unregistered factories with boilers set up on encroached plots,” said a senior official, when asked what was preventing him from issuing a closure order or demolishing such unregistered factories.
The official conceded that there are many other such factories with boilers in the vicinity of North Karachi but said that “it is in the jurisdiction of the town council and the city government.”
There was no answer to the query as to who will inform the local bodies and how.
In the meanwhile, people living in the vicinity of such factories remain under a perpetual threat of explosions.
Even a casual visit to many neighbourhoods of the city will reveal that there is a proliferation of such illegal and unauthorised factories.
To quote a member of the Site Association of Industry, the authorities have turned a blind eye to such illegal factories because they provide employment to many people.
The report has asked the trade bodies and associations to refuse membership to those factories that have been constructed on encroached land or unauthorised areas and factories that are not registered under labour laws.
Another recommendation of the report is launching of a campaign by the directorate of industries to verify the boiler certificates already issued in order to ascertain whether the boiler attendant to whom the certificate has been issued is actually on the payroll of the establishment.
The owner of the factory informed the committee that a reconditioned boiler was purchased from an oil mill, on which the working pressure limit was 150 pounds per square inch. The preventive devices and safety gadgets of the valves which were responsible to release pressure of the boiler in case it increased failed to control the pressure, causing the explosion.
To find out the exact reasons of the incident, the committee requested the Town Police Officer, Mr Sheikh, to hand over the pieces of the exploded boiler to Mr Anwar Ali, the boiler inspector. Severe burn injuries caused by sulphuric acid have been found as the main cause of death and injuries in the report.
Officials in the Sindh industries department say that most of the factories consider it an absolutely appropriate cost-cutting measure to install substandard machines and boilers and employ persons with dubious qualifications.
The problem has become all the more serious after the government decided to reduce the number of inspections by the labour and industries departments because factory owners complained of harassment and demand of gratification.
Another growing menace being reported by many citizens is warehousing in residential areas. All sorts of goods, right from chemicals, medicines, toys, garments, and electronics to edible items are being stocked in residences and flats, which are a perpetual health hazard and pose the threat of serious accidents.
