Chemical factory warehouse burnt; owner goes missing

The owners of Rekha chemicals, the company whose warehouse went up in flames yesterday in Bengaluru, are absconding. It has now come to light that the warehouse did not have a licence.

Bengaluru: On Tuesday, the city witnessed a major fire at a warehouse which took 6 hours to control, and caused damage worth lakhs of rupees.

The chemical warehouse owned by Rekha chemicals, which is on Mysore Road, witnessed a massive fire due to lack of certain fire preventive measures in the warehouse.

Explaining the cause of the fire, west division police said that Rekha chemicals and corporation has a manufacturing unit in Bommasandra which manufactures sanitizers and thinners. They said that the warehouse was piled up with excess stock compromising fire safety. Raw materials like chemicals and other flammable liquids were stocked in the warehouse.

The prima facie reason for the incident looks like chemicals stored under poor conditions catching fire causing a massive fire outbreak.

On the morning of the incident, a mini truck had arrived to unload more stock. During that time an employee noticed the fire. Soon all four employees fled, but unfortunately, one employee suffered serious injuries. He is being treated at a hospital.

Soon after the outbreak, people in the vicinity of an area around 200 metres from the spot, were evacuated. Latest reports say there is no loss of life.

As the fire raged on, owners of Rekha chemicals went absconding.

No license for the warehouse:

According to DCO Sanjeev Patil, only the manufacturing unit in Bommasandra had a licence. The warehouse on Mysore road did not have a licence.

Investigation over the outbreak is in progress, but according to rules stocking of flammable chemicals within housing limits is illegal. Police say the warehouse did not possess a licence. But the blame also falls with the BBMP and other authorities for not taking action despite the presence of such a huge illegal warehouse within the city limits.

The population density in Bengaluru is 4378 people per square kilometre. With such a dense population and close proximity, incidents such as this will always be a threat to thousands of lives.