Explosion in machine during programme attended by UP minister, 2 injured

Two people were injured in an explosion due to technical fault in a machine during a programme here on Monday, officials said.

Minister of State for Forests (Independent Charge) Arun Kumar, Commissioner Soumya Agarwal, Municipal Commissioner Nidhi Gupta and District Magistrate Shivakant Dwivedi and other senior officials of the Electricity Department who were attending the programme escaped narrowly, the officials said.

The joint programme of the electricity department and the Smart City project was organised on the power sub-station premises in Rampur Gadren area on Monday when the explosion took place during the demonstration of the machine meant for finding underground power cable faults, a senior official said.

A contractual worker of the electricity department, Brijendra Singh, and BJP worker Pradeep Rohila were injured and have been admitted to hospital.

DM Dwivedi said there was an explosion due to technical fault in the machine during the programme and two persons were injured.

Taking a serious note of the matter, the commissioner has set up a five-member committee to probe into the reasons leading to the explosion and give its report within three days.

The minister has complained to the Energy Minister about negligence in the Smart City project and demanded an inquiry into the incident and action against the officials concerned.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)