SME Times News Bureau | 02 Nov, 2009
Loud explosions were heard Monday from the Indian Oil depot here that caught fire as the blaze continued to rage for the fourth consecutive day with the toll rising to 11 after one person succumbed to burn injuries.

Flames leapt out from four of the 11 tankers containing petrol and diesel while the fire in seven tanks had died out, though the black smoke they emitted formed dark clouds in a two-three kilometre radius around the depot.

The blaze broke out at the Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) depot in Sitapura industrial area, about 20 km from Jaipur city centre, at 7.15 p.m. Thursday evening.

Loud explosions were heard from the premises as district authorities waited for the fuel to burn itself out. The depot had about 50,000 kilolitres of petroleum products, worth Rs.150-200 crore.

"We are just waiting for the fuel to burn...we cannot do much till then and according to our information, the kerosene present in three of the tanks has completely burnt out," a district official said.

The fire had late Sunday spread to the roof of an electronic company building about 200 metres away from the IOC complex wall. It took over two hours for firemen to extinguish that blaze.

The death toll, meanwhile, increased to 11 as a man who had suffered sever burn injuries was declared dead late Sunday night.

A dark cloud of smoke has covered the area and people living in proximity of the depot are complaining of difficulty in breathing and itching in the eyes. The state pollution control board said it was monitoring the air quality.

"Since Friday night I have been having problems in breathing...I complained to my doctor and he told me it is because of the smoke in the air," said Adesh Kumar, a resident of a nearby colony.

District authorities have now decided to open the industrial units situated near the fire site that had been closed since Thursday evening. Schools and colleges, which have been closed for the past few days, are likely to reopen Tuesday.

The industrial units are demanding a relief package while the villages situated near the depot are demanding either the depot be shifted to another area or they be rehabilitated.

"We cannot live with this kind of danger...we want the government to shift this depot from here or to shift us somewhere else," said Lala Ram Meena, who lives in a village nearby.

The state government has set up two committees to assess the damage caused to industrial units and nearby villages.