By IANS
New Delhi : Ammunition and defence property worth more than a staggering Rs.8 billion have been destroyed in fires in the last nine years but sabotage has been ruled out in all cases, parliament was informed Wednesday.
The figure doesn’t include the losses in a devastating blaze at an Indian Army ammunition depot at Khundroo, 60 km from Jammu and Kashmir summer capital Srinagar, in August since the court of inquiry into the blaze was yet to give its report, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
According to figures furnished by the minister, ammunition worth Rs.7.91 billion was destroyed in four blazes at Indian Army depots since 2000. Altogether, 21,486 tonnes of ammunition was destroyed in these blazes.
There were two other blazes during this period but they did not cause any losses of ammunition.
In the case of state-owned ordinance factories, the total value of government property and armaments destroyed in accidents since 1998 has been assessed at Rs.73 million, Antony said.
The total losses thus come to Rs.8.64 billion.
According to the minister, “probable causes of such accidents on analysis of past cases” are fires due to spontaneous combustion, electrical short-circuit, and accidental explosions during testing/repair/breakdown of ammunition.”
Antony also said that the modernization of Indian Army Ordnance Depots, including improvement of safety measures, “is an ongoing process”.
The government has sanctioned Rs.14.13 billion since 1998 till date for upgrading the ammunition storage facilities, he added.
Of the ammunition depot fires, the worst was at Bharatpur in Rajasthan on April 28, 2000 in which 12,969 tonnes of munitions valued at Rs.3.87 billion were destroyed.
Over 8,000 tonnes of ammunition worth Rs.3.75 billion was destroyed in a blaze at a depot in Ganganagar in Rajasthan on May 24, 2001.
Close to 400 tonnes of ammunition worth Rs.270 million was destroyed in a blaze at a depot at Pathankot in Punjab, while a fire at a depot at Pulgaon in Maharashtra destroyed 126 tonnes of ammunition valued at Rs.220 million.