No wrong procedure adopted in storing ammunition -- Army

No wrong procedure adopted in storing ammunition -- Army
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

BHARATPUR, APRIL 30: The army on Sunday clarified that no wrong procedure was adopted while storing ammunition in the Bharatpur Ordnance depot even as the troops were bracing themselves for a major combing operation in and around the depot to defuse the unexploded and semi-exploded shells after the Friday afternoon fire.

"The ammunition is kept on open plinths during summers and distance is being maintained between shells as per acceptable norms," Brigadier M N Mahajan, Brigadier (Admn) of 12 Corps, said here. He said that small arms ammunition were kept in the open. Preliminary inquiry has suggested that one of these plinths caught fire which broke out in the grass in the complex.

He said nine columns of the Army have been pressed into service to clear the area in the complex of unexploded shells. Unexploded shells within the premises were a major cause of concern to the explosive experts as their explosion could trigger blasts of left over ammunition in the Ordnance depot.

The army's Para unit, which was moved in from Agra, has successfully cleared some area within the depot compound spread over an area of 28 kms. However, officials of this unit said the area could be cleaned only after a minute search for which modern equipment for detecting shells might be pressed into service.

The explosive experts might not be able to defuse the unexploded shells within the depot and may have to carry them out of the compound. The depot has 49 storing facilities out of which nine have been completely destroyed.

The scorching sun, with the mercury touching nearly 45 degrees Celcius, is yet another problem as it too can trigger blasts.

The Army will be concentrating inside the depot while the State administration has been asked to carry out combing operation in the villages outside the depot.

Senior Army officials said that after completing combing in the premises, the troops will also assist in clearing off the villages outside the Ordnance depot. About 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes of ammunition used in small arms, tanks and long range artillery shells worth Rs 2,000 crore were destroyed in the fire.

Meanwhile, Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-tank missiles, which form a part of the armoury of the Ordnance depot, have not been damaged by fire, which, otherwise could have caused a catastrophe for entire Bharatpur town and nearby Agra city. Though the fire is suspected to be accidental, Army authorities have not ruled out sabotage. A Staff Court of Inquiry headed by Major General C B Suku and comprising explosive experts and frontline commanders have begun investigating into the fire.