Shahapur oil mill gutted in fire

Property worth crores of rupees was gutted in a fire that broke out in Liberty Oil Mills, near the industrial hub of Shahapur, 90 kms from Mumbai, early on Tuesday morning. There were no casualties.

Property worth crores of rupees was gutted in a fire that broke out in Liberty Oil Mills, near the industrial hub of Shahapur, 90 kms from Mumbai, early on Tuesday morning. There were no casualties.

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Fire brigade personnel from Mumbai, Thane district and Igatpuri were called in to douse the flames.

It took the fire brigade 12 hours and 15 fire tenders to bring the fire under control. Fire brigade personnel were trying to put out the flames until late on Tuesday night.

The mill produces the brands Sunflower Oil and Chanda Ghee. It also manufactures plastic jars and bottles to fill the products with. The company’s machinery, raw material and interiors were completely charred.

The tehsildar of Shahapur, Sanjiv Javedwar, said, “the fire broke out at plant number 2 where an oil tank was installed and heat was supplied to maintain the oil in liquid form.”

Workers said some raw material caught fire due to heat from the oil tank. The workers informed the manager on duty, who initially told the workers to control the fire. He called the fire brigade only when he realised the scale of the fire.

“We immediately informed all the fire stations in Thane district and Nashik. We did not allow traffic on Shahapur-Murbad road, which created some inconvenience to people,” Javedwar said.

Shahapur is located on the Mumba-Agra national highway. Apart from Liberty Oil Mills, the area is also home to the Jindal steel plant. Mumbai gets most of its water supply from lakes in and around Shahapur.