Ambora mishap exposes chinks in off-site emergency plan

Ambora mishap exposes chinks in off-site emergency plan
*Ill-fated tanker lifted after 17-18 hrs
*Fuel emptied into tankers arranged by locals
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 6  
South Goa’s much-hyped Disaster Management and Off-site Emergency Plan came under the scanner once again on Sunday after a tanker carrying highly combustible Aviation Turbine fuel turned turtle at Ambora-Loutolim late Saturday night.
Even as the tanker developed a leakage creating a panicky situation, believe it or not, it took nearly 17-18 hours for the authorities to lift the ill-fated tanker from the site for want of a dedicated heavy duty crane at the disposal of the Disaster Management Authority.
That’s not all. The tanker carrying the highly inflammable liquid was emptied into tankers arranged by the locals.
Taking serious cognizance of the indifferent attitude of the oil company officials, the Maina Curtorim police later booked four officials, including the driver for endangering human lives.
Police informed that the tanker (MH 04 DD 9935) carrying around 12,000 litres of Aviation Turbine fuel was heading to Vasco from Mumbai when it turned turtle and landed in the roadside fields at around 9.30 pm last night. Fire personnel maintained a strict vigil at the site as the tanker developed a leakage, with large amounts of the fuel flowing into the khazan fields.
Traffic on the Borim Bridge-Ambora road was immediately diverted upon the instructions of the fire services as a precautionary measure since the turbine fuel is highly combustible. Traffic was out of gear since last night on the busy Borim-Margao road, causing traffic bottlenecks in the interior roads in Loutolim.
PSI Paresh Naik informed that the police immediately intimated the oil company officials last night itself to make arrangements to lift away the ill-fated tanker. “The officials assured to requisition a crane the next morning to tow away the tanker, but there was no sign of the officials even around noon”, PSI Naik added.
With no sign of the tanker at the site, the authorities requisitioned the tanker from a nearby private company, and made arrangements for private tankers to empty the tanker.
The tanker was finally lifted at around 3 pm, exposing the authorities and the oil companies over the inordinate delay in lifting the ill-fated vehicle. Herald understands that even senior district administration officials were unaware of the incident even till late in the evening.
PSI Paresh said the officials were booked under Sections 279 and 336 of the IPC and were later released on bail.
The incident only brought to the fore the chinks in the off-site emergency plan and the disaster management plan. In fact, the need for a dedicated crane to attend to ill-fated tankers was felt by the agencies in the past, but that has not been given a due thought by the some of the officials handling the disaster management in the district over the years.