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Life limping back to normal at Sitapura

Mohammed Iqbal

Fire at IOC depot has abated with only one of the 11 tanks still burning

Jaipur-Sawai Madhopur train services begin
Residents returning home as power is restored

JAIPUR: Life at Sitapura near here started limping back to normal on Thursday as the fire at the Indian Oil Corporation depot abated with only one of the 11 fuel storage tanks still burning. Traffic resumed on Tonk Road, except on a short stretch, in front of the oil terminal after seven days.

The locals are returning home, with the power supply being restored and the district administration allowing activities 500 metres away from the site of the fire.

Business and manufacturing units at the Sitapura Industrial Area also started functioning.

The North-Western Railway resumed operations on the Jaipur-Sawai Madhopur section after getting clearance for using the track along the IOC depot’s boundary wall from the district administration.

Three local trains remained cancelled while a dozen other long-distance trains were diverted during the past week.

Signals repaired

The railways have repaired the electronic signals damaged in the blasts when the fire erupted on October 29, killing 12 persons and injuring 200 others.

A trial train was operated on the Durgapura-Sanganer section early on Thursday.

Rajasthan Roadways buses will start plying on Tonk Road only after the fire is completely extinguished.

A short stretch of the road comprising an overbridge near the popular tourist resort, Chokhi Dhani, is likely to be opened for traffic by Friday.

According to Fire Department sources, black smoke was coming out of one of the storage tanks because of burning of sludge at the bottom.

The blaze in the other tank is likely to get extinguished by Thursday night.

Police probe

Police are investigating cases booked against IOC officials for alleged negligence and have started recording statements of complainants and local industrialists. Separate first information reports have been registered for deaths in the fire accident and damage caused to the property of industrial units.

While relief camps opened by the district administration in schools have been closed, mobile medical teams are doing rounds in the affected Sitapura, Sanganer and Pratap Nagar areas to provide free treatment to those complaining of eye-burning, itching, allergy and respiratory problems.

The district administration has so far distributed Rs. 35.50 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to those affected by the fire. State Industries Minister Rajendra Pareek handed over a cheque of Rs. 50 crore received from the Union Petroleum Ministry as an interim relief to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at the Secretariat.

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