Fernandes pegs loss at Rs. 376 cr.

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 2. Ammunition worth about Rs. 376 crores was destroyed in the fire which broke out in the Army's key ammunition depot in Bharatpur, the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, said today.

In a statement in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Fernandes said another Rs. 13 crores may be incurred to replace the infrastructure affected. Explosives stored in 20 open plinths and nine sheds were definitely affected, the Defence Minister observed, adding that ammunition in the remaining storage sheds is prima facie safe, but this would need confirmation after detailed inspection.

The depot, Mr. Fernandes said, was holding 30,000 tonnes of ammunition under permanent (17,200 metric tonnes) and non- standard storage (12, 700 metric tonnes) at the time of the fire. The ammunition comprised air defence missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, artillery ammunition of all types, tanks and ammunition for the armoured personnel carriers, small arms rounds along with mines and explosives.

According to the statement, the fire started around 3:30 p.m on April 28 outside the perimeter wall of the depot. The presence of strong south-westerly winds and high temperatures ranging form 45 to 47 degree Celsius aided the rapid spread of fire to the open plinths.

The explosion and fire continued unabated through the night of April 28/29. The frequency of the detonations gradually reduced during the day on April 29 and the blaze was brought under control that evening. There have been no explosion since 10:00 p.m on April 29.

Fire-fighting operations were handed over to the Chief of Staff, Headquarters 1 Corps, located at Mathura with additional assistance arriving from Alwar, Agra and Mathura.

The House was told that two civilians died while seven were injured in the blaze. Compensation will be paid for the damages caused within seven days of receipt of the proposal from the Rajasthan Government. Three Army personnel have also suffered minor injuries.

Mr. Fernandes pointed out that a Court of Inquiry under a Major General has been constituted and adequately qualified personnel have been asked to inspect the remaining ammunition sheds in the depot.

Opposition unhappy

The Opposition was not satisfied with the statement. The CPI(M) leader, Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, said that the Government was treating the incident in a ``casual manner.'' Mr. Jaipal Reddy (Congress-I) described the statement as ``laconic''.

PTI reports:

Explosions continue

Stray explosions in the ammunition depot of the army, where a major fire broke out on Friday, continued today even as experts went about scouring for explosives and defusing them.

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