Mangalore: Tanker tragedy - DC talks tough, warns of action against HPCL
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Apr 10: Taking HPCL company officials to task for the ghastly tanker accident at Perne, Bantwal that claimed eight lives, injured four and caused heavy damage to propety, deputy commissioner Harsh Gupta on Wednesday April 10 warned that the company will be held responsible for the accident as per the provisions under law.
Not satisfied by the response of the company to the accident, the DC came down hard on HPCL and said that oil companies transporting gas in tankers without taking any responsibility is unpardonable. "I will not allow any scope for violation of law in this case," he asserted.
Addressing a meeting with officials of oil marketing companies and district officials in this regard at his office, Gupta told the HPCL company representatives that the administration will not hesistate to hold the company responsible for the tragedy.
"Oil marketing companies have failed to take responsibility for the tragedy and have played with lives of innocent people. The police department will take strict action in the matter," he said.
Stressing on the role of the RTO, he said, "The officials of transport department must stop each and every tanker and ensure that there are two drivers and a cleaner, and also check all the relevant documents. If there is any discrepancy or violation of rules, the tanker must be seized. The drivers should not be allowed to cross the speed limit at any cost."
He also addressed the officials of National Highway Authority and asked them their opinion on the measures that can be taken to alleviate the dangers posed by the steep turns on the highway. The tanker accident on Tuesday had occured while the driver was negotiating a turning.
Gupta also obtained details from the tahsildar about the estimated damage caused by the accident and assured that all efforts will be made to compensate the kin of the victims appropriately. He also instructed setting up of a fire station at Uppinangady.
He also directed the officials of factories and boilers to contact the chief controller of explosives and know about the guidelines and laws pertaining to the transport of inflammable materials.
Expressing lament over the fact that even in this era of technology such companies had failed to install GPS in their vehicles, he said that with the help of technology the occurence of such accidents could be curbed. "The company's off-site emergency plan was not implemented properly. SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) was not observed.
"The manner in which HPCL being a public sector company responded to the accident is unfortunate," he said.
Superintendent of police Abhishek Goyal gave his inputs on the accident and steps that could prevent such accidents in the future. District chief fire officer Varadraj brought to the notice of the DC the irresponsible conduct of the company after the accident.
The DC gave a deadline of 48 hours to the HPCL officials to respond to all the questions raised by him in the meeting.
Representatives of BPCL, IOC, and MRPL officials, ADC Dayanand K A, MCC commissioner Dr Harish Kumar, and DCP Mutturaya were preesnt.