Dt Next Impact: Ammonium nitrate dump inspected, plan on for quick disposal

Within hours of DT Next expose on the 740 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, seized by Customs five years ago, stored in 37 containers in a freight station in north Chennai, senior officials from the Customs Department and the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) visited the facility to allay fears and inspect the safety features.

A team led by TNFRS chief DGP C Sylendra Babu paid a visit to the Sattva Container Freight Station in Manali on Thursday after Customs officials visited the place where the huge quantity of ammonium nitrate seized in 2015 was stored. “We have advised the staff there on how to isolate and keep such a huge quantity of explosives. They can cordon off the containers and also make sure that combustible material is not kept anywhere near those containers,” a Fire and Rescue Service official said.

Senior Customs officials claimed that they were ensuring safety measures and standard procedures were followed in storing the explosive materials. Inexplicably, they claimed that the years long delay in auctioning the seized chemical was because of the four-month long COVID 19 lockdown.“We are in the process of readying 690 tonnes of it for e-auction,” an official claimed. The Department also clarified that the particular CFS is 20 km away from the city and there are no residential colonies within 2 kms of the Freight Station.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has directed Customs and Field Formations to immediately verify and confirm within 48 hours that any hazardous and explosive materials lying in warehouses and ports across the country meet all safety and fire standards and present no danger to life and property. This precautionary measure has been taken in view of a recent incident of explosion in a foreign country caused by such material, CBIC said in a tweet.

Earlier in the day, PMK founder S Ramadoss urged the government to take immediate steps to safely dispose of the ammonium nitrate, saying a possible Beirut-like incident should be avoided.

Despite officials guaranteeing safety of the stored chemicals, sources said that of the 740 tonnes of chemicals seized, 50 tonnes got spoilt during the December 2015 floods. A total of 740 tonnes of ammonium nitrate then valued at Rs 1.80 crore, was seized by Customs in 2015 from importer Sri Amman Chemicals of Karur.