Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought a report on the recent fire at the Onida factory in the Mandawali area of Haridwar district that left 10 persons dead.
The fire broke out on Wednesday night and went out of control due to the lack of fire-fighting equipment in the factory or with the local administration.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat, who visited the factory site on Friday, said the “utter callousness” of the factory management as well as the Uttarakhand government had been exposed by the incident.
“The Prime Minister has sought a report and I will submit it soon,” Mr. Rawat said, adding that the State's Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar has been asked to immediately carry out a safety audit of all factories to prevent such incidents.
A request for safety audit of all factories in the State has also been sent to the DGFASLI — a government-controlled technical agency, Mr. Rawat said.
Meanwhile, rescue operations continued at the accident site as one more person is believed to be trapped inside. A case has been registered against factory owner Mirk Chandani and general manager Sudhir Mahindra, police said.
Ten persons killed in accident; rescue operations continue with one still believed to be trapped inside
‘Utter callousness' of Uttarakhand government exposed: Rawat
