3 Balco officials arrested for Korba chimney collapse
R Krishna Das / Raipur Nov 18, 2009, 00:43 IST
The police have finally arrested top officials of Vedanta Resources charged with the collapse of an under-construction power unit chimney at Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) in September, killing 41 persons.
The arrests were made last evening close to the tragedy site at Korba, 225 km from here. Taken into custody were Vice-President and Power Project Manager Viral Mehta, Assistant General Manager (Projects) Deepak Narang and graduate trainee engineer Anoop Mahapatra.
With this, four people have been arrested so far in connection with the deaths. The police had earlier arrested Manoj Sharma, project manager of Gannon Dunkerley and Company Ltd (GDCL), that had bagged the contract for the chimney construction.
GDCL had bagged the Rs 60-crore contract to build the chimney at Balco’s power plant. Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation, a Chinese company, was awarded work for setting up the 1,200-Mw plant.
Ratanlal Dangi, Korba’s superintendent of police (SP), told Business Standard two senior Chinese officials of Sepco had been asked not to leave Korba. The investigating officials were interrogating them and the two officials could be arrested if evidence was found in the probe, the district police chief said.
It is rather strange that a Graduate Engineer Trainee has been arrested in connection with the Collapse of the Under Construction RCC Chimney at BALCO Site. As the very designation suggests, the Graduate Engineer was working in the capacity of a "Trainee" and a Trainee does not have any authority to take any decision nor a Tarinee is expected to have technical proficiency and capability for proper supervision of Construction Work at Site.
Thus it is clear that the Trainee Engineer is being made a 'scape goat' for the tragic incident.
By the way, where are the Engineers of the Chinese Construction Company, which was the Main Contractor ( GDC being the subcontractor to the Chinese Construction Company) for the Construction of the Power Plant including the RCC Chimney ??
Why no one from the Main Contractor has yet been arrested for criminal negligence and shortcomings in the design and construction of the RCC Chimney ??
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