Pharma firm asked to stop production after death of 11 in fire at its plant

Pharmaceutical firm Blue Jet Healthcare has been ordered to stop production and remove inflammable chemical goods from its premises after a fire in its factory in Maharashtra's Raigad district killed 11 labourers early this month, said the local administration on Wednesday.

The action has been taken by the district administration on recommendation of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB)'s Raigad unit. Eleven workers were killed and seven others injured when a fire broke out at the company's plant in the Mahad MIDC area on November 3.

The company has been ordered to stop production and remove inflammable chemical goods from its premises within a period of 72 hours, according to a notice issued by Deputy Collector (Mahad) J S Hajare. In a separate action, the Deputy Collector has asked two companies -- Sanika Chemical and V N Creative -- to stop production for causing water pollution, leading to large-scale death of fish in a drain.

On November 9, thousands of fish were found dead in the drain in Temghar in Mahad MIDC.

An inspection of the spot by the pollution control board revealed that two industrial units, Sanika Chemical and V N Creative, were responsible for the death of the fish, said a notice issued by Deputy Collector Hajare.