Odisha govt asks industrial houses to relocate hazardous units

Odisha government has directed the industrial houses in the state to shift their hazardous units, chemical and gas storages from highly populated areas to a safe distance.
The move comes in the backdrop of identification of 168 accident prone factories. These factories which are operating in the close vicinity of certain towns have been asked to relocate.
A meeting was held by the state crisis group under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary A P Padhi, who issued directions in a bid to prevent industrial accident in the state.
He also directed the industries to enforce adequate security measures failing which they will be subjected to stringent action. The have also been given a time frame to adopt security measures and relocate their hazardous units.

Padhi asked them to conduct regular emergency drills to keep all their safety measures and mechanism in all readiness to respond.
He also asked the field functionaries of the Directorate of Factories and Boilers to enforce compliance to the measures suggested through safety audits.

The issues relating to hazard identification, risk management, preparation of on-site and off-site emergency plan, acquiring emergency management infrastructure, training of personnel and stake holders and organisation of mock drills were discussed during the meeting.
It also concluded the need for awareness of industrial hazards through seminars, conferences and meetings at local levels.
According to the sources, of the total 4,025 registered factories, 2,277 were registered boilers and 4,90,227 people are dealing with hazardous materials.

Around 13 districts have been identified as major accident hazardous factories and nearly 168 factories as accident prone. The district crisis group are functioning in 25 districts under the chairmanship of respective Collectors.