Mahindra & Mahindra's manufacturing unit in Nashik, Maharashtra witnessed a major fire breakout on 9th May 2012. As per reports, the fire broke out at 5.45 am causing a loss in production of approximately 250 vehicles. In its filing to BSE, the company stated, “The fire has been confined to this specific area. There has been no casualty. As a safety measure, the operations of the plant have been suspended in the first shift. The production loss in the first shift is estimated to be around 250 vehicles.”
According to the car maker, the fire did not spread beyond Scorpio unit's logistic area and the Xylo lines. M&M is in process of determining the possible reason of the fire. The exact amount of damage caused by the mishap that took place in the storage areas of Scorpio and Xylo series at the plant is yet to be ascertained.
Head of car manufacturing unit, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nachiket Kulkarni, commented, “The Scorpio plant of the company was gutted in the fire. We don't know the reason behind the fire as yet. We are also yet to estimate the exact amount of loss.”
A statement of company said, “The Plant assets are adequately covered by insurance. The Management expects to restart the Bolero and Verito lines fully and the Scorpio line partially from the second shift onwards.” The affected storage facility housed spare parts of its car models, including those of Scorpio, along with some cardboard and plastic material, reported Uday Kumar Vaidya, Senior General Manager (SGM), Personnel, M&M.
Chief Fire Officer, Anil Mahajan, Nashik Municipal Corporation reported that around 25 fire engines belonging to the company’s own fire fighting unit and that of local civic body were used to get control over the situation. He quoted, “A major fire broke out at the logistics department of the company early this morning. After receiving a call at 5.45 am, informing us about the incident, fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was soon brought under control.” However, the company claims to abide by all safety norms and processes laid down by the regulatory bodies.
