Kanpur: A major fire broke out at a biodiesel refinery under construction in Sadikpur village, located in the Nawabganj Police Station area of Farrukhabad, late Saturday evening, causing massive explosions and smoke that engulfed the surrounding area. The administration temporarily closed the Delhi-Farrukhabad road to manage the situation, reports The Times of India.
The plant, situated between Sadikpur and Shukrullapur, is owned by Kaymganj businessman Awadhesh Kaushal and his son Ritik Kaushal. Both the owners and workers escaped safely, though one worker suffered burns. It took around three hours for the fire brigade to fully extinguish the blaze.
Spanning 22 bighas, the refinery was under construction as part of the Invest UP initiative. Upon receiving the alert, 15 fire tenders were dispatched to the site. Senior officials, including District Magistrate Ashutosh Kumar Dwivedi, Superintendent of Police Aarti Singh, and ADM Arun Kumar, visited the location. Residents of nearby villages evacuated their homes and salvaged belongings, while water for firefighting was supplied from surrounding villages using submersible pumps and tubewells.
Speaking about the incident, DM Ashutosh Kumar Dwivedi said, “Commercial LPG cylinders were stored at the under-construction biodiesel plant. One of the cylinders exploded, triggering the fire. One person sustained burns and was treated at the district hospital before being discharged. The situation is under control, and no casualties have been reported. The plant was still under construction and had not yet received an operational NOC. An inquiry committee has been formed to determine the cause of the fire, and action will be taken based on its findings.”
Workers reported that the explosions were so powerful that they could be heard up to seven kilometres away. Authorities have begun assessing the quantity of biodiesel produced and the extent of the damage. The temporary closure of the Delhi-Farrukhabad road disrupted traffic for about an hour. Additionally, burning chemicals from the fire caused air pollution in nearby villages, filling the area with a strong odour.
