Title - Jaipur: Tragedy averted after Metro yard goes up in flames

The Metro workers had a narrow escape when a fire engulfed the Metro casting yard in Bhankrota on Wednesday. Though no one was injured, the incident exposed the tall claims of proper management by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the supervisor of the state government’s dream project.   Sources said the fire broke out in the yard on Wednesday morning. The heaps of garbage were burnt. Soon, it turned into an inferno when it caught the unused chemicals casks disposed by the Metro workers. The staffers informed fire office, and a fire engine was pressed into service    “It took half an hour to control the flames. The fire broke out in the heaps of garbage. The flames soon intensified owing to the chemicals. We rushed on the spot with a fire tender and extinguished the fire,” stated Ishwar Lal Jat, chief fire officer (CFO).    The sources added that no worker engaged at the Metro site was injured in the fire incident. Prima facie, the negligence in disposing of the chemical casks seems the major reason responsible for the accident.    The sources further said that the casks were used, but had inflammable chemical up to certain level. Fortunately, the flames were controlled immediately otherwise it could have turned out to be a major mishap.   The fire incident also exposed the tall claims of safety made by the DMRC. In the last three months, six such accidents have occurred at Metro sites in city in which the workers have sustained injuries.   When contacted, DMRC chief civil manager Atul Gadgil confirmed the accident.    “The fire was reported at the yard in the morning. The Metro staffers had called the fire department and it doused the flames minutes. No one was inured,” said Gadgil.