Handique to soon visit Balco accident site

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New Delhi, Oct 22 (PTI) Mines Minister B K Handique today said he will soon visit the Balco complex in Chhattisgarh where an accident last month had claimed 41 lives.

"I will soon be visiting Balco site to take a stock of the situation,"Handique told PTI here.

As many as 41 lives were lost in a chimney collapse at an under-construction 1,200-MW power plant site of Balco at Korba on September 23. Around 300 workers were working on the site.

The state government has ordered a judicial enquiry into the accident. Handique said the ministry is waiting for the enquiry report.

"We have written to the state government and expressed unhappiness over the accident. We are waiting for the enquiry report,"he said.

Handique also said Balco should have briefed his ministry about the accident."We are 49 per cent shareholder in the company. Balco should have come and briefed us on the accident."

However, Balco CEO Pramod Suri told PTI that the company had briefed the ministry on the very day of the accident and submitted its preliminary report on the matter.

"We have already briefed Mines Secretary Santha Sheela Nair about the accident. Officials from the ministry had also visited the accident site. We followed the protocol and did not go to the minister but the ministry has already been briefed,"Suri added.

Metal and mining major Vedanata Resources holds the majority stake in Balco.

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