PORVORIM: Raising the issue of the Berger Becker Coatings factory fire, in a rare instance Calangute BJP MLA Michael Lobo on Tuesday slammed his own government for
failing to register FIR against the said company for alleged negligence.
“We need to know what the company was storing in the basement. If not for the hard work of fire brigade personnel, the entire village around would have been engulfed in fire. We need to get to the root cause of this. Shockingly, there is not even an FIR on this company yet. Why? What is the reason that the government has not booked the officials
of the company for negligence?,” Lobo questioned while speaking during the discussions on demands that also included Industries.
It may be recalled that on January 10 this year, a major fire broke out in the Berger-Becker paint manufacturing factory in the Pilerne Industrial Estate which continued for almost four days generating clouds of smoke causing panic in many parts of North Goa and as far away as Panjim. This fire incident is being considered as one of the biggest disasters in the history of Goa.
Lobo said that these polluting industries need to be shifted where there are no human settlements. He further pointed out various problems faced by industries in the state.
“There is a lack of infrastructure like water and power and more importantly treatment plants for treating effluents. There are several polluting industries,” he said.
