Coal-carrying truck gutted in Ghugus, cause of fire unclear
A truck carrying coal for a contractor burned down near Ghugus in Chandrapur district on September 29, and police are investigating how the fire started.
A fire that destroyed a coal-carrying truck at Ghugus in Chandrapur district has set off talk across the district. The truck, which belonged to a company hauling coal from the Mungoli coal mine to the Ghugus railway siding, was burnt to ashes on the night of September 29. How the fire started is yet to be established.
The work has been given to KVRR Infrastructure, which holds the contract to carry coal from the Mungoli mine to the Ghugus railway siding. The company has about 20 trucks, driven by people from other states. Chandrapur is considered an industrial district, but there is anger among local unemployed people over outside workers being given jobs in its factories. The contract was awarded to the company in this climate.
The incident took place at around 10.30 pm on September 29. Truck number MH-34-CQ-3385 had gone from the Mungoli mine towards the Ghugus railway siding. It was returning to the mine after unloading the coal when it suddenly caught fire near the Bairam Baba temple. The whole truck was engulfed in no time.
Various claims have been circulating since. The truck's driver, Ramakant Singh Gond, claims that five youths stopped the truck, poured petrol on it and set it on fire. However, two more trucks of KVRR Infrastructure were parked behind the burnt truck. Their drivers say that had anything of the sort happened, the driver would have come to them, and the attackers would have burnt their trucks too. Nothing of the kind happened, they say. These drivers suspect a short circuit. The fire has caused the company a loss of several lakh rupees.
Among transport operators, there is also talk and rumour that the coal haulage contract was given to a company from another state instead of local transporters, and that the incident may have been the result of that anger.
Ghugus police are investigating the case. The actual cause of the fire will emerge only after the investigation. The company is to file a complaint today, and the truth of the incident will become clear only after the complaint is received. Until then, people should not believe rumours.
