The explosion at a metal factory near Dehlon on Saturday which left at least seven persons injured also claimed the lives of hundreds of birds and left many others with grave burn injuries.
For the Pakshi Sewa society at Rakhbag Ludhiana which has been treating injured and sick birds for over 10 years, it was the first time when it took on the brave task of nursing birds — rescued from the site of the incident — suffering from burn injuries back to good health.
A number of birds nestled on the beams at the facility were charred to death, while several got buried under the debris after the explosion. The birds, including pigeons and common myna, got parts of their bodies including wings, talons and beaks burnt. While 40 birds were rescued on the day of the incident, 17 were brought in a day later on Sunday.
Ashok Thapar, who heads the Pakshi Sewa society and is a businessman by profession. said “We had no prior experience on giving first-aid to the birds with burn injuries, so I reached out to experts and doctors who treat similar cases to give us instructions on what treatment should be given.”
“The birds were in a very serious state when they were brought here. We immediately cleaned the burnt areas with antiseptic, and gave them food and liquid medicines suggested by the doctors,” he added.
Pointing out a marked improvement in the health of birds over the course of Saturday, he said, “The birds were hardly moving on the first day, but now they have started chirping and cooing.”
Of all the birds that were brought for treatment, Thapar said, around 80% should survive and be able to fly in the coming weeks.
Vishal Jain, a member of the NGO which has over 30 members, said “We have an arrangement of feeding over 5,000 birds every day, it costs over ₹10,000 per day for grains, and pulses for the birds, which is arranged through voluntary funding by our members and residents.”
Jain said the group has also created a set-up for birds with severe injuries.
Sunil Narula, who runs an ambulance dedicated to rescuing injured animals like stray dogs, was also a part of the rescue process. Recounting the experience, he said “As we reached the location, we found the birds stuck under the debris. We have rescued around 60 pigeons, still, there are more which are under the debris and we are trying to save them.”
Once fully recovered, the birds will be released back to the area from where they were rescued.
Owner, manager booked for endangering lives
A day after an explosion at an aluminium factory in Rangian village of Dehlon, the police booked the owner and manager of the factory on Sunday. The police suspected that the scrap pressed into the machine had some explosive which left seven workers injured.
The complainant, Akshay Kumar Tadia, 19, of Ranian village, suspected that the scrap that the factory imported from foreign countries was not segregated before placing it in the pressing machine.
The accused have been identified as Ravinder Kalia, owner of Atharva Metal Craft, and Deepak Singh, manager of the factory.
The complainant said the scrap reached the factory on October 7. He added that without segregating the scrap, he asked the labourers to process it further. While pressing the scrap, the machine exploded and he, along with his six co-workers, suffered multiple injuries.
The factory used to import scrap from bay areas and sometimes, some explosives also came with it.
Earlier, the factory manager had claimed that the explosion occurred due to a reaction between chemicals used in the factory.
Assistant sub-inspector Sulakhan Singh, the investigating officer, said that a case under Sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act which endangers human life) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Act has been lodged against the accused.
The ASI added that the forensics and ballistic teams were also investigating the matter to ascertain the reason behind the explosion.
