“The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In Every Opportunity.
The Optimist Sees Opportunity In Every Difficulty.”

The massive boiler explosion and the resultant fire in Dombivli MIDC that left over 6 dead and around 50 injured; is a grim reminder of the perils of residential accommodations located close to hazardous chemical units. The blast occurred in a chemical factory in Phase 2 of the Dombivli MIDC that comes in Thane district on Thursday, May 23, 2024. According to initial reports, four boilers of the unit exploded and such was its impact that it triggered a massive fire.

The fire had its cascading effects. The fire in turn caused the drums containing chemicals to burst, shattering window panes of the nearby houses. Expectedly, it also triggered a panic where people working in the nearby areas ran helter skelter and many from nearby factories evacuated as a precautionary measure. The blast was so loud that it could be heard in a radius of couple of kilometers. Even as fire threatened to engulf adjoining areas, over 10 fire tenders were summoned to douse it out.

According to Mr Yasin Tadvi who heads Thane’s Disaster Management cell, the fire spread to three adjoining factories. Thick plumes of smoke and fire could be seen billowing from a long distance and the situation grave enough to get the services the Fire Brigade, the NDRF and TDRF. By the time Fire Brigade soldiers got going in right earnest, the series of explosions had resulted in enough damage. Scraps of iron pieces and ash flew as residents and workers in nearby factories panicked. Some workers in the adjoining units also suffered burns but managed to get out of the harm’s way.

As Mr Namdeo Chaudhari, Chief Fire Officer, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation supervised safety and rescue operations, it was not clear what exactly led to the blast but it brought back the memories of a similar blast in Dombivli MIDC in 2016 when over 12 people had lost lives. In the last 10 to 15 years, the topography of the areas has changed substantially with residential accommodations almost merging with industrial units in close congestion. The heightened security and other evacuation measures now seem to be a case of shutting the stable after the horses have bolted.

Like it happens in certain areas, the Fire Brigade found it difficult to enter the affected site despite their best efforts. Mr Uday Samant was among the first to reach the spot and assure a “permanent solution would be found for the MIDC Dombivli. There were, however, expected questions raised, one of which was a fire audit carried out.

The Dombivli MIDC was developed in two phases in 1970s and 1980s while the residential areas came much later. The hazards of over 175 units, most of them chemical factories, had come under the scanner following a spate of accidents that forced MIDC, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and Director of Industrial Safety to undertake a survey. The joint survey found that around 156 chemical units are within 50 meters of the residential plots and also caused high-level pollution.

At an MIDC Board meeting headed by then Industries Minister Mr Subhash Desai, it was decided that these 156 units could be relocated to Patalganga in Raigad district. It went a step further and identified 100 acres where these units could be relocated. One of the key rationales behind the decision was all these units had come up prior to the Fire Safety Act and the present plots were too small to install fire safety measures. The relocation plan with a two-year time frame entailed that unit owners could sell plots for residential, commercial or IT units.

The plan made horse sense and was welcomed by the residents but the units represented by Kalyan-Ambarnath Manufacturing Association raised a banner of revolt, saying the state government had not taken it into confidence before arriving at the decision. Their argument was the MIDC came first and the residential areas later. They countered saying the MIDC erred by not creating a buffer zone. As of today, the Dombivli MIDC has over 525 industrial plots and over 620 residential plots.

The units have been dubbed as ticking time bombs. The Dombivli MIDC is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the workers are mostly contract labourers working in unsafe conditions. Although exposed to hazardous chemicals, they work without any protective gear like masks, helmets or gloves. Compulsions inhibit them from speaking out but their fears are not entirely unfounded.  Activists believe that these units are stuck in time warp and use old machinery and are ill-equipped to tackle exigencies like the one today (23-05-24).

A random visit to the MIDC area spells out the dangers. Huge boilers occupy the areas and in case of an accident, damage gets amplified due to inaccessibility. The boilers have not been upgraded and are vulnerable to explosions due to the excessive load on the infrastructure. The presence of hazardous machinery outside the plant drastically increases the dangers to the vicinity. Safety issues apart, the MIDC units have also been culpable of disregarding environmental norms. Untreated chemical effluents are released in the canals which directly go to the sea. In Dombivli MIDC case, polluted canals meet the Ulhas river. As a result, effluents also percolate into the ground water that makes drinking water supply or the borewells also to get contaminated.

The Dombivli MIDC is otherwise a vibrant industrial hub and makes a significant impact on the local economy. Together, these businesses propel MIDC Dombivli’s economic growth, job creation, innovation, and community development, displaying the area’s adaptability and diversity in India’s industrial and commercial sectors.