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**Times of India: Hyderabad Factory Disaster Highlights India’s Alarming Industrial Safety Record**

**Hyderabad, India** – A recent industrial accident in Hyderabad, resulting in 40 deaths and 33 injuries at a Sigachi Industries unit, has reignited concerns about lax safety standards and underreporting of workplace accidents in India. The Times of India, in an editorial, points out that the factory operated without basic safety systems like fire alarms and heat sensors, raising serious questions about the value placed on workers’ lives.

The editorial highlights the state government’s failure to ensure the factory had the necessary fire department clearance. This incident is not isolated; India has a history of industrial disasters, including the Bhopal tragedy.

While government data reports 5,336 factory deaths between 2018 and 2022, this figure is believed to be a significant underestimation. A staggering 90% of India’s industrial workforce is employed in the informal sector, where safety regulations are often ignored.

Data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) reveals that India has the highest rate of fatal workplace accidents globally, with 117 deaths per 100,000 workers. This contrasts sharply with countries like the US (3.7 deaths per 100,000 workers) and European nations like Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland (around 1.3-1.4 deaths per 100,000 workers). Oddly, the same countries report far more non-fatal injuries.

The Times of India argues that India’s low reported accident rates are not indicative of safer workplaces but rather a result of underreporting. A 2017 study in Dadra and Nagar Haveli found that only 30% of accident deaths were recorded by police and 70% by health facilities, despite legal requirements for every accident death to result in a police report.

The editorial concludes that India’s factory workers will only be safe when accountability is enforced and industrial accidents are no longer ignored.

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