A Disaster Foretold

Weak regulations, under-trained staff and the lack safety mechanisms led to the blast at Sigachi Industries that claimed 42 lives

- K A Shaji

SRI Ramya and Nikhil Reddy, both 29-year-olds, first met at the quality control deck of the now decimated Sigachi Industries located in Telangana's Sangareddy district. She hailed from the Krishna district and had landed employment at the pharmaceutical factory after a stint at the Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam in Tirupati. Nikhil was from Jammalamadugu and had studied at the Sri Venkateswara University, also in the southern temple town. Their discreet love affair had been solemnised at a secret Arya Samaj wedding in April and a grand August ceremony was pencilled in to placate families, who were uneasy about their decision. So Ramya swapped her usual 10 AM start for Nikhil's dawn shift on June 30, hoping to steal a little more time together on the factory floor. At 9:10 AM the factory's dryer blew in a shattering explosion, scattering metal, powder, human limbs... and the couple's careful plans across the yard. Their love story ended where it began, on the Sigachi Industries quality control deck, which is now smashed to smithereens.

Almost a week after the blast that levelled Sigachi Industries and claimed 42 lives, officials concede that the factory was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Early inquiries point to worn machinery, under-trained staff and an absence of basic safety drills. District records show 34 bodies identified, 11 workers fighting for life and nine still untraced while forensic teams sift through 30 recovered body parts.