Rae Bareli: NTPC blast toll reaches 29, families of victims look for bodies and answers

1. NTPC blast toll reaches 29, families of victims look for bodies and answers The Centre orders a probe by NTPC’s executive director; the state announces a magisterial probe Rae Bareli: NTPC blast toll reaches 29, families of victims look for bodies and answers on Business Standard. The Centre orders a probe by NTPC's executive director; the state announces a magisterial probe.

2. Hamidullah Khan (41) is one of the five brothers who fell victim to the massive NTPC explosion that happened at the 500-Mw newly commissioned unit at NTPC’s Unchahar plant. Of the five, three have died and two are critically injured. Hamidullah has left four kids and no earning member. His family, along with a politician from Chhattisgarh, was in argument with NTPC executives and UP government officials over the ambulance that will ferry the three bodies. There are also murmurs of overwork, extra shift hours, lack of manpower, etc. Some even blame the Centre for pushing the public sector undertaking to achieve targets like adding a 500-Mw unit at Unchahar. With outrage on the part of workers building up on Wednesday, some labour directorate officials from Rae Bareli were trying to pacify labourers by apprising them of the compensation that will come from the Centre, the UP government, and NTPC. Till 7 pm on Thursday, the death count had reached 29 and the number of the injured was 80. The NTPC township looks eerily calm. The residential quarters are buzzing with usual action. It was the guest house where politicians and the families of victims were pouring in, exhibiting nervous energy and having tense arguments. In a 20- foot ‘control room’, the casualties were being counted and updated every minute. At NTPC level, three of its heads of departments — those of operations, ash handling, and border maintenance — were injured. The head of operations, Sanjiv Sharma, succumbed to injuries later in the evening. Click here to Know → NTPC Blast