Srisailam fire due to ‘lack of safety culture': Activists, scientists write to CM

Human rights activists, environmentalists and scientists have written an open letter to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, days after nine people were killed in a fire at a hydroelectric power station in Srisailam in Telangana. In the letter, they state that the deaths were the "result of a complete lack of safety culture." Eight people, including former IAS officer Dr EAS Sarma, Justice Chandra Kumar (Telangana Rythu Sankshema Samiti), Dr Sandeep Pandey (Ramon Megasaysay awardee) and Dr K Babu Rao, of  Scientists for People, along with seven civil society organisations, including Human Rights Forum (HRF), have released the open letter. The activists pointed out certain flaws and irregularities. "These deaths were a result of inadequate provisions in the design of the hydropower station building. There is no evidence that the hydropower station was built to international standards, such as 'Recommended Practice for Hydroelectric Generating Stations NFPA 851,' in the absence of any national standards. No safety upgradation was done to meet the current safety standards after two previous flooding incidents (1998 & 2009) and one fire accident in 2019 at the right bank of the station." The activists also raised questions about the lack of fire alarm systems to alert employees. They also questioned whether a fire hazard risk assessment was carried out at the station. The letter further asked, "Did the station obtain fire safety permission and renewed it regularly?" The team of activists, which consisted of policy experts, scientists and environmentalists, alleged that there was neither an emergency action plan in place nor was any training given to the employees in case of fire or floods. They noted, "Hydroelectric facilities have an advantage over their fossil fuel-fired cousins by virtue of having an unlimited supply of water for fire protection at their fingertips. Medium and high-head hydroelectric facilities have an added advantage. The water is already under sufficient pressure for fire protection use." Pointing to safety and procedural lapses in the accident, the activists urged the Telangana government to implement international standards at all the hydro power stations, besides conducting a safety audit. The activists, while referring to similar accidents in the United States and other places, as well as certain academic research papers, noted, "When the generation was shut down without any provision for standby power to emergency services like ventilation and lighting, the effect of smoke became predominant in absence of any exhaust ventilation. Fire also exhausts oxygen to the levels that humans can not sustain breathing." The chief minister has announced Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia to Divisional Engineer Srinivas Goud's family, and Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the other victims. Taking exception to this, activists demanded equal treatment of all the victims in compensation. The activists, while urging the CM to ensure a proper and thorough investigation into the incident, as would be conducted in developed countries, said, "Development is not merely increasing wealth. It also implies developing a culture that sustains that wealth generation." The Telangana government has tasked the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to probe into the accident. Earlier, officials of the CID also recorded statements of injured employees.