800 experts to attend Industry Safety meet in Jamnagar

Ahmedabad, Dec 12 (UNI) About 800 industry representatives will participate in a two-day conference on Industrial Safety being held in Jamnagar from December 15 to discuss health and safety related issues.

Gujarat Industrial Safety Council consultant Dr P T Shah, Reliance Industries senior vice-president G S Sekhon and general manager S T Desai will deliver talks on measures that ought to be adopted for industrial safety and awareness campaigns conducted to promote it in Jamnagar.

Gujarat's Minister of state for Labour Murubhai Bera, vice-president of Tata Chemicals Sanjeev Lal, Essar Oil's vice- president Prakash Mai, will also participate in the conference.

Giving details about the industrial scene in the state, Industrial Safety and Health director N D Joshiyara said Gujarat boasts of 31,000 factories, of which 4,500 are chemical based. About 540 factories are in the major hazardous category, comprising 43 per cent of the country's total.

He claimed that accidents at workplace have been on a decline in the state. While in 2002, there were 218 life-endangering accidents, it has declined to 160 this year. There has been a slide in non-life endangering accidents by 32 per cent, he noted.

For workers' safety, measures have been taken under On-site Emergency plan and Off-site disaster plans in each district. These measures are rehearsed at least once each year in the presence of the district collector, Mr Joshiyara observed.

He said utmost care is being taken to protect workers and provide them with a good working environment. Their blood samples are tested at laboratories and measures are taken to treat them in case of adverse reports. There are about ten lakh workers in the state, he added.

UNI DC-MMG WD SKB1921