Pune: Illegal scrap dealer on BT Kawade Road booked for refrigerator blast, one death

Scrap dealers cannot set shop in residential areas; business runs with blessings of local police

Pune: A worker was killed and three others injured at a scrap godown in a blast. The godown owner was booked for not taking safety measures and for telling his workers to break the compressor of a refrigerator. Incidents of fire have grown in residential areas. It is observed that there is no one to control such scrap godowns, where fires and accidents take place.

Citizens complained that such shop owners bribe the police and continue to do the illegal business. Around 15 shops adjacent to a scrap godown caught fire recently in Kudalwadi, Pimpri.

The fridge blast took place in Mundhwa on Friday evening. Kishor Pralhad Salvi (37), resident of Hadapsar, lodged a complaint at the Mundhwa Police Station in this regard. Scrap yard owner Mohammad Sayyad, resident of Hadapsar, was booked. The victim was identified as Mehmood Shaikh.

The complainant and the victim were working at the scrap godown. The accused shop owner told them to break various things stored at his shop and separate metal pieces. Mehmood Shaikh was breaking the compressor of the fridge when the blast happened and he died. The complainant, the owner and Dilip Misal were injured in the blast.

Scrap yards in residential areas

As per the statistics of the Fire Brigade, as many as 1,493 fires were reported in the city during January to November 2024. A big loss to property was reported in them. The number of blazes in residential areas is growing. A growing number of scrap shops and related fire risks were brought to the notice of the administration and the police by local residents. But they neglected the complaints.

At least two fire incidents at scrap godowns are reported every month. Scrap yards are usually set up in an open space under a shed. Safety measures are not followed there. Fires often break out in slum areas and at scrap godowns.

A big blaze was reported recently in the Hadapsar area. If such scrap yards are neglected, there would soon be an episode like Kudalwadi in Pune.