The boiler explosion at NTPC’s Unchahar power plant in Rae Bareli underscores the importance of inspection and protocols for hazardous industrial operations. It has cost at least 32 lives and caused sever injuries to scores of personnel. High pressure boilers are hazardous pieces of equipment, which are strictly regulated with special laws. In fact , the basic objective of the indian Boilers Act, 1923 is to ensure the safety of life and protection of property by mandating uniform standards in the quality and upkeep of these units. That the Uttar Pradesh government failed miserably in meeting this objective is evident from the public sector facility.
Quite clearly, the accident was entirely preventable because boilers are designed to provide warnings as soon as dangerous pressure builds up
and trigger automatic safety devices at a critical point. They should undergo periodic inspections to ensure that all these features are working and intact. At the Unchahar plant, the blocking of an outlet for waste gases by ash unusual in a fairly new boiler, calls for an inquiry in to the quality of the equipment and the fuel used. Ideally, these aspects should be investigated by an external agency and not the NTPC.
Industrial regulation has, unfortunately, come to be viewed as a barrier to ease of doing business in India. This is a result of inefficiency and corruption and the typical response of government has been to relax crucial safety checks Self-certification of facilities has received support from policymakers even in the case of boilers soon after assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi likened maintenance of boilers to that of a privately owned car where owners should be trusted to do their best because they understand the need for safety in its operation. But he two are not comparable. The Unchahar accident shows it is in everyone’s interest to have a transparent regulatory mechanism for hazardous industrial activity. The safety and welfare of workers and the public at large cannot be compromised. A rigorous approach to accident reporting must become part of the process if the weak spots in regulation are to be addressed national crime records bureau data provide insights in to casualties caused by industrial boiler and gas cylinders explosions there were 61 deaths in 2015– and the rise in the number of accident over the previous year point to the need for strict enforcement of safety protocols. The loss suffered by families of workers due to an accident that could have been averted cannot be compensated just financially. It must be the centre’s endeavour to see that measure taken to make it easy to do business do not translate in to lack of regulations, and putting lives at risk. Administrative reform can eliminate the corruption of inspector raj and achieve transparent regulation, while keeping the workplace safe
Auditorial by the hindus
Answers the following questions
01 which of the following statement(s) is/are true in the context of the passage?.
(a) the accident caused by the boiler explosion at NTPC’s is due to the extremely high pressure furnace.
(b) the loss suffered by the families of the workers due to an accident can’t be compensated is the basic objective of the Indian Boilers ACT, 1923
(c) the support being received from policymaker is a result of inefficiency and corruption
(d) the comparision made by Modi between the maintenance of boilers and a privately owned car is two different things
(1) only (a) and (c) (2) only (a) and (d)
(3) only (a), (c) and (d) (d) only (a), (b) and (c)
02. Although the boilers are designed to provide warnings as soon as dangerous pressure builds up, why did Uttar Pradesh government fail in completing this objective?
(a) because the periodic inspections are always conducted.
(b) because the government has not compensated for the loss suffered by the famalies of the workers so far.
(c) because the government has been lax as to safety protocal
(d) because the government has not submitted a report to National Human Right Commission
ANSWER.
01– (a)
02–(c)
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