Harish Rao warns of Statewide agitation for letting down Sigachi victims families

BRS leader T Harish Rao accused the State government of denying full compensation to families of workers killed in the Sigachi Industries blast. He said victims received only part of the promised Rs 1 crore and warned of a Statewide agitation if justice is delayed

Hyderabad: BRS leader and former Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday warned of a Statewide agitation if justice was not delivered immediately to the kin of the Sigachi disaster victims. Demanding immediate payment of the full Rs 1 crore ex-gratia as promised by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on the spot, he wanted steps for issue of death certificates to the eight missing workers’ families and reimbursement of medical expenses without deductions.

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress government for failing to honour the promise of Rs 1 crore ex-gratia to each family of workers killed in the reactor explosion at Sigachi Industries in Pashamylaram, Sangareddy district, on June 30, Harish Rao wrote a strongly worded open letter to the Chief Minister, pointing out that even after four and a half months, the bereaved families had received only Rs 26 lakh each (Rs 25 lakh from the company and Rs 1 lakh from the government), leaving a staggering Rs 74 lakh pending per family.

---

He accused the government of “betraying” the victims and resorting to “fraudulent accounting” by including statutory PF, ESI, insurance dues and even medical expenses of deceased workers in the compensation figures. Harish Rao also slammed the Labour Minister for “shamelessly” claiming that victims received Rs 40–50 lakh each, calling it a blatant lie. He termed the deduction of treatment costs from compensation as “inhuman” and accused officials of acting as “agents” of Sigachi management while intimidating victims.

Highlighting the plight of eight workers whose bodies were completely charred and left beyond the scope of identification, he said despite CCTV footage and biometric attendance proving their presence on duty, authorities have failed to issue death certificates even after four months, denying their families both insurance and government compensation. He also questioned why the State government has not ensured the Rs 2 lakh central ex-gratia reaches the families and why Sigachi owners were not arrested despite High Court intervention.

“The Congress government is shamelessly shielding the management. No SIT, no arrests,” he charged, warning of a Statewide agitation if justice was not delivered immediately.