Three Odia Labourers Killed In Kurnool Granite Quarry Blast

Hyderabad/Berhampur: Police on Sunday identified the bodies of three Odia labourers of Odisha’s Ganjam district who among 15 labourers were killed in a high-intensity blast in a granite quarry in Aluru Mandal of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh on Friday night.

Of the three Odia deceased labourers, the bodies of Duryodhan Nahaka and Manoranjan Nahaka of Bandhatala Nuagaon village under Rambha police limits were identified on Saturday while that of Bhima Nahaka of J Radhagobinpur village in Ganjam district was identified on Sunday.

Apart from the three deceased Odia labourers, the condition of the three seriously injured labourers identified as Pandab Nahaka of Badagunjara village, Ramachandra of Bitanabala village and Rajendra of Rambha area of Ganjam district, admitted at a government hospital in Kurnool, is stated to be critical.

Meanwhile, a two-member fact-finding team, comprising the District Labour Welfare Officer and the Rural Labour Inspector of Ganjam district, left for Kurnool on Sunday night for an on-the-spot investigation.

“I had asked the principal secretary, Labour and ESI, Anu Garg to immediately send the officials to Kurnool and by her order, the Ganjam district administration has sent two officials of Ganjam district. On the basis of their information, the state government will take necessary measures,” Labour & Employees’ State Insurance minister Sustant Singh told mediapersons in Bhubaneswar.

According to eye witnesses, the intensity of the blast was so severe that it was felt up to 10 km away from the mishap site. Besides, cracks developed in the nearby houses. The dismembered limbs of the deceased were found strewn around the quarry.

Three tractors, a lorry and a shed in which the labourers had taken shelter were gutted.

There were nearly 30 workers at the quarry when the blast took place at around 8.15 pm. While most of the labourers sustained burn injuries, a few of them managed to escape unhurt.

Following the incident, fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flame.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the quarry was operating illegally in the area. The residents of the nearby villages had urged the officials to take action against unauthorised blasts and the movement of heavy vehicles in the area.

Efforts are on to trace 15 missing labourers.

Meanwhile, the police are on the lookout for local TDP leader and quarry owner Srinibas Choudhury on the basis of a non-bailable warrant issued by a local court in Kurnool.