Ghaziabad: Three workers injured in fire at factory operating in residential area

Officials added that they discovered that plastic cutting work was being conducted as a factory in the basement of a building

Three workers, including a woman, sustained burn injuries after an explosion at an illegal factory in the Rajiv Colony residential locality of Shalimar Garden on Friday, police said.

The illegal factory was being run from a residential area. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The injured workers were promptly taken to GTB hospital for treatment, and legal action will be taken against the factory owner for running an illegal establishment, according to the police.

Fire department officials received a call around 11pm and sent two fire tenders to the densely populated residential area. Officials added that they discovered that plastic cutting work was being conducted as a factory in the basement of a building.

“The fire broke out due to a blast in the compressor of a plastic cutting machine at the site, and three workers were injured. The police transported them to the hospital, and the fire was extinguished by using hose reels since the fire tenders couldn’t navigate through the congested lane. Two fire tenders were deployed from Sahibabad fire station,” said Rahul Pal, chief fire officer.

The police identified the three injured workers as Umesh Kumar, Rekha Devi, and Rama Kant, while the owner of the building was identified as Anil Kumar.

“Three workers suffered burn injuries and were rushed to the hospital for treatment. We will verify the operation of such illegally operating units and take appropriate action. These factories operate without permissions and norms, and legal action will be initiated soon,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, DCP (trans-Hindon).

Officials from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said that the factory lacked a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the board.

“The mentioned factory does not have permission from the UPPCB and is operating illegally in a residential area. We do not grant permissions for operating factories in residential areas, as it violates land use regulations. In the past, we have also communicated with relevant agencies to prevent water or electricity connections to such units,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB.