Incense factory goes up in smoke

December 14, 2011

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Bangalore, December 14: Little did those who moved into the new building on 12th cross in Kadirenahalli, South Bangalore know they were bang next to a ticking bomb. On Tuesday morning, when fire destroyed chemicals and other raw material used to manufacture incense sticks at Balaji Agarbathi Pvt Ltd, residents realized the folly of having a factory in a residential area.

It took 11 hours and 19 fire tenders making multiple trips to bring the fire under control. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the three-storey factory was completely gutted and the loss is yet to be calculated. Fire service officers said the building neither had fire-fighting equipment nor a No-Objection Certificate from the department.

A group of cooks who came to cater for a function in a house opposite the factory sounded the first alarm at 4.30am. One of them saw fumes coming out of the ground floor but before they could figure out what was going on, the fire engulfed the building.

Four vehicles from the Banashankari fire station sped to the spot. However, they realized that four fire tenders wouldn't be enough to douse the fire. Additional equipment and personnel were summoned and by 7am, 19 fire tenders were on the job. The fire tenders had to make multiple trips to Jayanagar to get water as the building didn't have enough saved for an emergency.

Neighbours told mediapersons they had complained many times about the factory. "There was a stink of chemicals from the factory and we were having health problems due to it. This fire is our worst fears come true," said V Muniraju, owner of the building opposite the factory.

Around 60 people work in the factory. "We left the factory last night around 8.30pm. This morning, I was told by a colleague that our factory was on fire," said a worker. Next to the factory is a hostel which has about 20 working women, and opposite it as well behind it are two three-storyed building with people staying there. The building to the right is just a metre away and its doors open towards the burning building. Fortunately, that building was not occupied.

Firefighter removed at least 20 drums of inflammable chemicals from the burning building. They said the primary chemical found was diethyl phthalate, which on burning produces toxic gases. Also, they found other colouring agents and raw material for making incense sticks.

The reason for the fire is not known, according to people in the area there was welding work going on the morning that might have led to the fir. However, the preliminary investigation points towards a short circuit. DCP Sonia Narang told TOI that the building owner did not have satisfactory answers to police questions about the fire safety audit. Police said a case of negligence has been filed against the factory owners Balaji and Bhaskar. The owners refused to comment on the incident.

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Agencies
May 24,2020

Bijnor, May 24: A man died after he was attacked by his cousins, allegedly for not getting tested for the Coronavirus after his return from Delhi.

The incident took place in Malakpur village in Bijnor district.

Manjeet Singh (23) died on Friday during treatment in Meerut.

A FIR has now been registered against Manjeet's cousins, Kapil and Manoj, their mother Puniya and Manoj's wife Dolly at the Nahtaur police station on a complaint filed by the father of the deceased Kalyan Singh on Sunday.
SHO, Nahtaur police station, Satya Prakash Singh said that no arrests have been made yet.

According to reports, Manjeet died due to head injuries.
His sample was not collected for a Coronavirus test by doctors during treatment.
Additional SP, Bijnor, Sanjay Kumar said, he underwent thermal screening when he reached Bijnor on May 19 from Delhi. The report was negative so his sample was not collected.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performs 'rudrabhishek' for safety from COVID-19
SHO Satya Prakash Singh said, "Since his return, Kapil and Manoj were regularly asking Manjeet to get his test done. On Thursday, the cousins again asked Manjeet to get his test done after which an argument ensued between them."

"The accused brought sticks and started hitting Manjeet. He suffered injuries on the head and shoulder. When Manjeet fell unconscious, he was rushed to government hospital by his parents where he succumbed to injuries a day later," said Singh.

Chief Medical Officer, Bijnor, Dr Vijay Yadav said he has "no information" about the matter.

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Agencies
May 26,2020

New Delhi, May 26: A massive fire broke out on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday in the slums of the Tughlaqabad area in south east Delhi in which over 250 shanties were gutted, however, no one was injured, fire officials said.

Atul Garg, Chief Fire Officer, told IANS, "We came to know about the fire in the slums around 12.15 a.m. following which 28 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. And the fire was brought under control by 4 a.m."

He said, the Tughalaqbad slums have over 500 shanties, out of which over 250 have been destroyed in the fire.

He said, it took time for the fire tenders to reach the spot as it was on the hills, but the fire was doused within four hours and by 8 a.m. cooling off procedure has also been completed.

When asked if there is any casualty in the incident, he said, "No injury or casualty has been reported."

He also said that as of now the actual reason for the fire is not known. "But we are trying to find out the reason of the fire," Garg added.

South East Deputy Commissioner of Police R.P. Meena said, "In the night it seemed that almost 500 shanties were gutted. However, in the morning it became clear that only 250 shanties have been gutted in fire."

He said, the South East district police after receiving the call also rushed the ambulances and the local police team in the area for rescue operation. Meena further said that very few people were residing in the shanties, and the people came out of their shanties after the fire broke out in one of them.

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News Network
May 28,2020

Hyderabad, MAY 28: A three-year-old boy who accidentally fell into a newly drilled open borewell in Telangana's Medak district was found dead in the early hours of Thursday, police said.

The kid's body was retrieved at around 4 am after a nearly 10 hours' long rescue operation involving different agencies, they said.

"He died a while before we evacuated him, most likely due to the mud that covered him from the top sealing off necessary oxygen supply, " Medak District Superintendent of Police Chandana Deepti told PTI.

The boy had accidentally slipped into the 120- feet borewell at around 5 pm on Wednesday in an agricultural field located in Papannapet mandal of the district when he was walking with his grandfather and father, police earlier said.

As part of rescue efforts, a parallel trench was dug along the borewell hole with the help of earth excavating machines and oxygen was supplied into it, but the efforts went in vain as the boy's body was found stuck at a depth of around 25 feet, the police said.

Apart from the police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel were also involved in the rescue operation.

The borewell into which the child fell was one among the three dug by the family since Tuesday night to try and find water for their fields. But none of them yielded any water, police had said.

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