Friday 3 June 2016

31 MAY 2016 PULGAON_WARDHA ARMS BLASTS

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The toll in the fire at the Central Ammunition Depot touched 19 on Wednesday, as three more bodies were found.
PTI
The toll in the fire at the Central Ammunition Depot touched 19 on Wednesday, as three more bodies were found.

About 130 tonnes of mines, ammo blew up, but other facilities saved.

The Army recovered at least three more bodies from the fire-ravaged debris in the Army’s Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) at Pulgaon in Maharashtra taking the death toll in Tuesday’s fire to 19, even as details continued to emerge of how the military may have narrowly escaped a much bigger disaster.
The war preparedness of the Army could have been dramatically affected had the fire spread to other storage facilities in the vicinity.
Army sources said DNA sampling was under way to identify the three bodies recovered on Wednesday. At least one more firefighter is suspected to be missing in the fire and blasts. About 130 tonnes of mines and other ammunition blew up in the fire and blasts, but it did not spread to nearby storage facilities. “One shed was completely blown up while another 3 sheds were slightly affected,” one officer said. Officials said that in such explosions much of the ammunition usually goes down into the earth, while the shards fly in all directions. The unexploded bombs make the cleaning-up process particularly dangerous.
The bigger task now is to sanitise the whole area, locate and defuse the ordnance, a senior officer said.
Army officers said the shed that saw the explosions is believed to have contained ammunition that was beyond its shelf life.
Casualties could have been averted, says firefighter
Casualties could have been averted in the Pulgaon Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) fire on Tuesday had the Army officers present on the spot asked the firefighting staff to move away and secure other sheds, according to an injured member of the civilian firefighters.
He was present near the shed when the blast took place.
Speaking to The Hindu on condition of anonymity, the fireman said: “The admin officer Lt. Col. R.S. Pawar and the Installation Security Officer Major K. Manoj asked us to keep trying to douse the fire at the shed which was on fire. After a point of time, it was clear that the shed would explode. However, the officers did not ask us to move away. The shed was anyway going to explode and our men could have been saved by some timely orders by the officers. It was sheer luck that the fire did not spread to other sheds.”
Chandramani Lade, another member of the firefighting squad near the exploded shed, confirmed this version to a news channel.
“When we reached the location of fire, it was already out of control. It was clear that it could not be controlled. So we decided to hide behind our vehicles and somehow managed to save our lives,” Mr. Lade told the channel.
He also claimed that many of his colleagues were missing. Reacting to Mr. Lade’s claims on the missing men, the Collector said, “I don’t think so. We would have received missing complaints by now. There is only remote possibility of recovering more bodies from inside the depot. But nothing can be completely ruled out.”
Six bodies unidentified
According to some other sources, the fire at the shed began at around 12.15 a.m. However, the Army officers in-charge took a long time to act.
Three deceased were cremated in Pulgoan on Wednesday. However, six bodies could not be cremated as they are yet to be identified because of “mutilation beyond recognition.”
“We are taking the help of forensic experts. The bodies are likely to be identified and cremated within the next two days,” said Mr. Nawal.
Shameful, says Sena
Terming the massive fire at Pulgaon as something “abnormal,” the NDA ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday smelt sabotage behind it and asked the Centre to own up responsibility for the loss of lives and the huge stockpile of ammunition there.
“Our enemies like Pakistan and China must have been very happy to hear that a huge stockpile of ammunition has got destroyed. There would not have been so much loss even in a war. Our government only expresses sorrow over the loss of lives and order inquiries. It is shameful that there are laxities on such matters,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece, Saamana. “This fire has raised many doubts and questions,” it said.

पुलगाव स्फोट : अपघात की घातपात?

By: एबीपी माझा वेब टीम | Last Updated: Tuesday, 31 May 2016 2:14 PM
    
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पुलगाव स्फोट : अपघात की घातपात?
मुंबई: देशातील सर्वात मोठं शस्त्रास्त्र भंडार असलेल्या वर्ध्यातील पुलगावमध्ये सोमवारी रात्री भीषण अग्नितांडव झालं. आशियातील दुसऱ्या क्रमाकांचं आणि भारतातील सर्वात मोठं शस्त्रभांडार असलेल्या पुलगावमध्ये आगीनंतर स्फोटांची मालिका झाली. या स्फोटात लष्कराच्या दोन अधिकाऱ्यासह 20 जवान शहीद झाले आहेत.

पुलगाव दारुगोळा भांडारात नेमकी आग कशामुळे लागली, याबाबतची माहिती चौकशीनंतर समोर येईल, मात्र पठाणकोटप्रमाणे इथेही घातपाताची शक्यता नाकारता येत नाही, अशी शंका निवृत कर्नल अभय पटवर्धन यांनी व्यक्त केली.

आशियातील दुसऱ्या क्रमाकांचं शस्त्रास्त्र भंडार

पुलगाव दारुगोळा भांडार हे भारतीय लष्कराच्या सर्वात मोठ्या दारुगोळा भांडारापैकी एक आहे. तर आशियातील दुसऱ्या क्रमांकाचं दारुगोळा भंडार आहे.

इथे दारुगोळा बनवण्यासोबतच मोठा शस्त्रसाठाही आहे. त्यामुळे हा परिसर संवेदनशील आहे. पुलगाव दारुगोळा भांडाराचा संपूर्ण परिसरत सुमारे 28 किलोमीटरचा आहे. या परिसरात लष्कराच्या जवानांव्यतिरिक्त कोणालाही प्रवेश नाही.

इथे शस्त्रास्त्रांचा साठा असल्यामुळे साहजिकच मोठ्या सुरक्षा व्यवस्थेचं कवच असतं. शस्त्रास्त्रांचे अनेक बंकर बनवलेले असतात. प्रत्येक बंकरमध्ये सुमारे 5 ते 6 हजार किलो शस्त्रास्त्रांचा साठा असतो.

मात्र आज जी आग लागली ती नेमकी कोणत्या बंकरला लागली आणि त्या बंकरच्या सुरक्षेसाठी किती जवान होते, हे अद्याप समजू शकलेलं नाही.
संबंधित बातम्या

पुलगाव स्फोट : ले. कर्नल, मेजरसह 20 जवान शहीद

पुलगाव स्फोट – पंतप्रधान मोदींची प्रतिक्रियाAround 20 people, including an officer of the rank of Lt Colonel, were killed and several injured in a major fire in India's biggest ammunition depot located in Pulgaon, 110 km from Nagpur in Maharashtra. Catering to Army's ammunition needs in the western sector, Pulgaon is home to the biggest stockpile of weapons including Brahmos missiles.

The fire, at the depot in Wardha district is now said to be limited to a small area and several surrounding villages have been evacuated with a Court of Inquiry ordered by the Army Chief, General Dalbir Singh Suhag. Quoting an Army officer, PTI reported that "secondary fire and explosions cannot be ruled out now". Television footage showed massive flames lighting up the night sky at Pulgaon where the central ammunition depot is located.
The blaze triggered multiple explosions, rocking houses in the area and forcing the evacuation of more than 1,000 people.
Two among the 20 dead were identified as Lt Col RS Pawar and Major K Manoj. The dead and injured soldiers belonged to the Defence Security Corp (DSC) that guards strategic defence installations.
Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar speaking with reporters on Pulgaon fire. Image courtesy: ANI/Twitter
Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar speaking with reporters on Pulgaon fire. Image courtesy: ANI/Twitter
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar is slated to visit Pulgaon this afternoon. Incidentally, Parikkar was in Pune to meet villagers around another ammunition depot in Pimpri and Chinchwad. The villagers have been demanding that the sanitised area around the dump be reduced to allow them to build houses. In recent years, there have been several fires at ammunition depots with the last one in West Bengal's Panagarh which is also an IAF base, which was rocked by explosions in 2010.
In 2007, thousands of villagers living in Kashmir's Anantnag district were evacuated after a huge fire broke out at a depot, injuring at least 25 people.
But, it was a fire in 2000 at an ammunition depot in Bharatpur in Rajasthan that put our attention back on the handling of ammunition and the safety of civilians around such locations. However, in recent years the defence ministry has been under immense pressure from local politicians to relax norms on no-go-areas around these ammunition depots.
According to the Works of Defence Act 1903, the ministry of defence can issue notification for sensitive defence establishments, putting restrictions on construction activities carried out by civilians in a certain radius for safety reasons in case of accidents.
An article in The Indian Express on 17 May quoted Lok Sabha MP from Shirur, Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, who raised the issue of Red Zone limits around Dighi Magazine Depot in the assembly claiming that the defence minister was positive about reducing the Outer Safety Distance (OSD) from 1,145 metres to 500 metres, but there was resistance from ministry officials.
Local people have demanded a reduction in the 2,000-yard limit of the Red Zone around Dehu Road ammunition depot and Dighi magazine depot as several people are living around these areas. Parikkar travelled to Pune on Tuesday to discuss the issue with local people when the Pulgaon ammunition dump caught fire.
While the Court of Inquiry will conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of this fire serious questions are being raised about the security of civilians in surrounding areas. Coinciding with demands from residents of Pimpri and Chinchwad, an IAF ammunition depot in Gurgaon was also in news for similar demands.
Encroachments, with the complicity of local administration, have created a major security hazard around the Gurgaon IAF depot. Attempts to demolish tenements hugging the outer walls of the IAF depot faced strong protests as local politicians demanded demanding that norms be relaxed at the cost of safety of civilian population living around.
The IAF could not get the surrounding areas vacated and the matter went to the courts.
In March this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the deputy commissioners (DCs) of Gurgaon and Faridabad to issue notices against those who have made constructions within 300 metre around the IAF ammunition depot Gurgaon and 100-metre around the air forces station in Faridabad.
The state government is in talks with private builders to provide alternate housing to people living near the IAF ammunition depot. The decision comes after Punjab and Haryana high court directed the Khattar government to remove all structures that lie within 300 metres of the depot.
The Hindu reported from the IAF ammunition in Gurgaon in February 2016: "surrounded by unauthorised buildings, security of 54 Air Stores Park, Air Force Station Ammunition Depot on Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road, could be a major concern for the authorities. Though no construction is allowed in a 900 meter radius around the IAF ammunition depot, houses - most of them with a second floor - rise above the concertina mesh on the depot's boundary wall. Though crucial for the IAF because of its strategic location near Delhi, the political patronage and a mix of civic indifference and collusion has allowed houses to be built deep inside the restricted zone of the depot.

TRENDING#

#dnaEdit: Ammo unsafe

Wed, 1 Jun 2016-08:05am , dna
Safety at ordnance depots has been a matter of concern over the years. Army and the Ministry of Defence have repeatedly failed to take precautionary measures
The nation’s immense pride for the armed forces notwithstanding, our vital defence installations continue to remain dangerously vulnerable to terrorist attacks and mishaps. The explosions followed by a massive fire at the biggest central ammunition depot in the country in the wee hours of Tuesday expose the gaps in the supposedly rigorous standards of safety and security. The loss of lives and destruction of stockpile at Pulgaon in Maharashtra should serve as a trigger for the defence ministry and the Army to critically view its efforts at maintaining its assets.
It’s probably too early to ascertain the causes of the fire. All efforts at the initial phase were concentrated on dousing the flames and minimising the damage. The number of casualties gives ample indication how grave the situation has been. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar was wise to rush to the spot, which had also been visited by the Army chief General Dalbir Singh. The way the Army has handled the situation deserves glowing praise.
A much bigger catastrophe was averted, thanks to some quick thinking and action. The villagers residing around the depot had been evacuated promptly while some army personnel laid down their lives fighting the blaze.
Though much of the fire has been put out, the threat of secondary explosions remains. With Pulgaon lacking proper medical facilities, the injured had to be ferried to the nearest hospitals in Wardha, a good 33 kms away.
The Pulgaon depot encompasses a huge area with several railway lines serving it. Its massive stocks include all sorts of ammunition ranging from bombs and grenades to rifles. It is said that stocks from various ordnance factories come there first and then transported to the different corners of the country. The depot is also tasked with the critical responsibility of getting rid of ammunition that’s past the expiry date — a job that has even won it an award for using solar energy.
In the aftermath of the fire, an allegation that has surfaced and carries considerable merit is the Army’s apparent refusal to modernise this depot, which was set up by the British during World War II. The other important aspect to be explored is why despite repeated accidents, our armed forces haven’t raised the bar in safety management. Consider the following incidents, not far apart from each other on the timeline: In 2014, off the Mumbai coast, a fire aboard a nuclear submarine claimed the lives of two officers. In 2010, Kolkata was witness to a ravaging fire at an arms depot that destroyed 150 tonnes of explosives. In 2007, Kashmir had to grapple with fires and explosion that tore through an ammo depot. In 2001, 427 tonnes of shells worth Rs20 crore were consumed in a similar fire. A year prior to that, it was the turn of the Bharatpur ordnance depot in Rajasthan to burn — the damage back then was pegged at Rs376 crore.
Back in 2001, a Comptroller and Auditor-General report was scathing in its observation on how archaic the Ordnance services’ inventory management had been. The report found that “almost the entire material inventory is procured, stored and distributed through a multi-echelon supply chain which is of World War II design”. It’s time to move beyond the customary court of inquiry and build a foolproof system in tune with the needs of the time.
The writing is on the wall: India is one of the biggest arms buyers in the world but it cannot manage its inventories.

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वर्धा – पुलगाव घटनेवर आमचं लक्ष : मुख्यमंत्री

Blasts were heard kilometers away

WARDHA/MUMBAI, Jun 01, 2016, DHNS
Pulgaon fire: People initially thought it was an earthquake
Villagers walk past houses struck by debris from the fire at  ammunition depot in Pulgaon in Maharashtra on Tuesday; PTI Photo
The calm of the night at Pulgaon was shattered as a series of explosions shook the ground and shattered window panes. 
It took some time for the people of Pulgaon and neighbouring villages to find out what exactly has happened.

Some of them came out of their houses to find flames lighting up the skies over the Central Ordnance Depot (CAD), the largest ammunition depot of the country.

The explosions could be heard in a 30-km radius of the CAD, reports reaching Mumbai said.

Immediately after the series of explosion, Wardha District Collector Shailesh Nawal swung into action and evacuated people from three villages located in the vicinity of the CAD.

“News of fire at CAD, Pulgaon is very unfortunate and disturbing. Spoke to Wardha collector and took stock of the situation,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted.

“Window panes of several houses were shattered, the doors weakened at the hinges and some huts in villages developed cracks,” a Maharashtra the police official said.

Eyewitnesses said that they initially thought that it was an earthquake when the first explosions were heard, but later realised that they were bomb explosions.

“The night sky was red and yellow and appeared like a fireball,” said some of the locals. 

OPINION » EDITORIAL

Updated: June 2, 2016 00:52 IST

Shell shock at Pulgaon

COMMENT (18)   ·   PRINT   ·   T  T  
Roughly 130 tonnes of ammunition blew up in the fire at the Army’s Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon, in Maharashtra’s Wardha district, in the early hours of Tuesday. The cause is unclear, and the high toll of life and material at India’s largest ammunition dump calls for not merely an inquiry, which has already been ordered by the Army, but also a thorough appraisal of the standard operating procedures for storage and inventory. The fire began past midnight, and it is to the credit of the Quick Reaction and Fire Fighting Teams that it was eventually restricted to just one shed. By the time the fire was brought under control around 6 a.m., the authorities had also evacuated people from neighbouring villages, where the impact of the explosions set off by the fire was visible in cracked houses and debris scattered from the depot. The CAD Pulgaon is a 7,100-acre facility that is in effect the main ammunition cupboard for the Army. From standard-issue bullets to Brahmos missiles, virtually all types of ammunition purchased by the Army are stored here, feeding 14 ammunition depots and field ammunition depots across the country. These 14 depots further distribute the ammunition to field formations. The brave operation by the small group of men, at risk to their own lives, has saved India’s nuclear-armed military from a much bigger setback.
The accident also comes at a time when the shortage of War Wastage Reserve (WWR), the ammunition held in the Army inventory, is exercising military observers and the top brass. The officially sanctioned requirement is that WWR equivalent to 40 days of intense war be held by the Army. However, a CAG audit in 2015 pointed out that the Army itself was procuring ammunition based on ‘Minimum Acceptable Risk Level’ (MARL) requirements, which averaged to WWR for 20 days of intense war. Even this MARL level was not being maintained, the audit found, with availability of ammunition, as on March 2013, below the MARL for 125 out of a total of 170 types of ammunition the Army was using. Significantly, the audit pointed to serious concerns regarding fire safety, transportation and storage. In violation of prescribed safety standards, the Army continued to transport explosives in ordinary vehicles, not enough had been done to ensure environmentally friendly and timely disposal of expired explosives, and the storage facilities were poor. Even today in Pulgaon there are sheds covered with tarpaulin. This tragedy must be a wake-up call, for the government and the military, to improve the safety of ammunition dumps and to accident-proof the transport of ammunition. Even the slightest lapse can have a devastating effect, as we are finding out this week.
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