Kurnool Quarry Blast: One More Odia Labourer Succumbs

Bhubaneswar: The number of Odias killed in the granite quarry explosion in Andhra Pardesh went up to five with another labourer succumbing to his injuries on Friday.

The deceased was identified as Pandab Lenka of Biti Nuagan village under Rambha police limits in Ganjam district. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Visakhapatnam.

The blast had taken place at the quarry in Aluru Mandal of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh on August 3.

Apart from Lenka, the four other Odia labourers killed in the blast are Duryodhan Nahaka and Manoranjan Nahaka of Nuagaon village, Rajendra Nahaka of Diandein village Bhima Nahaka of Jharedi village under Rambha police limits in Ganjam district.

Meanwhile, Kurnool police have arrested five persons, including TDP leader and owner of quarry Srinibas Choudhury. Of the five arrested, two are Odias, police said.

Following the incident, the Odisha government had sent a two-member fact-finding team, comprising the District Labour Welfare Officer and the Rural Labour Inspector of Ganjam district, to Kurnool for an on-the-spot investigation.

Expressing profound grief over the tragic incident, the Andhra Pradesh government had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the family of the deceased.

Three days after the tragic mishap, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on August 6 had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased and free treatment of the injured labourers.