A massive fire that broke out at Indo-Amines Company in Dombivli MIDC has once again sent shock waves through the city. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, unlike the previous deadly fire on May 23. However, residents remain traumatized by such frequent blasts. They are agitated against the MIDC and the government for not learning any lessons from the previous incident and allowing the chemical companies to function normally. The administration has suggested that an LPG cylinder blast inside the company could be the cause of the fire. Although the cause is still under investigation, eyewitnesses claim that Indo-Amines daily releases flammable chemical gases that have the potential to explode or ignite. Residents also allege that surrounding chemical companies release hazardous chemicals into the open drainage system.
Dombivli resident Anil Valekar and MNS leader told LokmatTimes.com, "The drainage system is not at all proper. All the nullahs are open here. The chemicals are released into the gutters, and today also this happened. I myself saw how the chemicals were floating in the water. Even school vans parked outside the company caught fire. What if any school student was passing?"
Purab Jain, an eyewitness of the fire who lives in the nearby Balaji Darshan society, said, "AQI is very low in this area. When we purchased the flat here, no major issue was reported. We decided to stay here as this area has good connectivity. Even a METRO project is going to start here, which is just 200 meters away. But now, it has become threatening to live here. When we wake up in the midnight, these companies release dangerous gases through chimneys. We feel suffocated." Though companies have insurance coverage and thus the company owners and managers are not impacted much, it severely affects the breadwinners of households who lose their lives, say some residents.
Social activist and Dombivli resident Manoj Giri has been writing letters to the MIDC for the past year regarding the encroachments in the MIDC area. "There are many such cases across the entire Dombivli MIDC area where hotels, lodges, residential areas, and company owners/managers have encroached and are cheating the government, but MIDC keeps delaying taking action. Even if any action is taken by chance, they ignore it if encroachments happen again at the same place."
Indo Amines Ltd is situated barely 300 meters away from the site of the disaster that struck Amudan Chemicals Pvt Ltd with multiple explosions-cum-blaze on May 23, claiming over a dozen lives and injuring more than 60 people. After the Amudan blast, a high-level committee was appointed to investigate the explosion. At that time, Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant said the committee would scrutinize companies that have violated regulations or engaged in unauthorized constructions. He mentioned that a decision was made two years ago to relocate MIDC and its chemical companies. The process of land acquisition at Patalganga, Jambhavali had been initiated but was halted due to the model code of conduct and the election process.