Rice mills still lack monitoring
The authorities concerned are yet to develop a minimum monitoring system for overseeing rice mill boilers, even after the April 19 deadly boiler explosion in Dinajpur Sadar.
A few boiler explosions occurred in northern region's automatic rice mills due to unskilled operators and lack of awareness among the millers.
Reza Humayun Faruk Chowdhury Shamim, president of Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry said this while talking to this correspondent.
Besides, there is only one inspector to oversee boilers in 300 rice mills and over 300 other different mills in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Khulna regions, showing awfully poor monitoring by the government, he said.
About one lakh workers are employed in the mills.
Mill operators of the divisions said there are 300 fully automated rice mills in operation in 16 northern districts. Of them, 140 are in Dinajpur and 53 in Naogaon and most of them are 30 to 40 years old, they added.
At least 23 people were killed in boiler explosions during the last four years in the districts. Two people were killed in a boiler blast at Tumpa Automatic Rice Mill in Naogaon Sadar upazila while three died at Dinajpur's Kuddus Automatic Rice Mill in 2013.
In the latest incident, 18 people died and 12 others were injured in an explosion at Jamuna Automatic Rice Mill in Gopalganj area of Dinajpur Sadar upazila on April 19.
Naogaon Rice Mill Owners' Group President Rafiqul Islam said boiler explosion in the mills is rare. One of the reasons for explosions is shortage of skilled boiler operators, he said. Besides, annual maintenance of each boiler is prerequisite for operating a rice mill, he added.
Most mills in the region do not have any skilled operators and routine checkup and maintenance of boiler with the help of an inspector is often ignored, said Anwarul Islam, senior vice-president of Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Hydraulic test is the only method for checking the condition of a boiler,” he added.
A rice miller in Dinajpur said the explosion at Jamuna Automatic Rice Mill was caused due to negligence of the mill owner and the operator. “Main boiler operator Moksedul Islam went out for having tea, whereas he cannot leave the place when the boiler is heated up,” he said.
“The explosion could have been averted if the safety valve of the boiler had worked properly,” the miller said.
Blaming the government for shortage of inspectors, he said there is only one boiler inspector for Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna regions.
Jamuna Automatic Rice Mill resumed operation on April 17 this year that had been closed since December last year, said the injured boiler operator Shafiqul Islam.
Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna region's Boiler Inspector Humayun Kabir said the accident took place as the owner restarted the mill without any preliminary maintenance work.
There are 600 boilers under Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna regions, Humayun said, adding that inspecting such a huge number of boilers by one inspector is quite difficult.
Dinajpur Deputy Commissioner Mir Khairul Alam formed a committee on April 22 to investigate the matter.
The six-member committee led by Additional District Magistrate Mahbubur Rahman submitted the report on May 6.
Chamber President Shamim said, "It was a lesson for the mill operators, workers and inspectors. “We have formed a committee to prevent such accidents in future.”
Madina Begum, wife of late Ripon Mia, filed a murder case accusing three people, including the mill owner Subal Ghosh, on April 24.
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