New control room set up for chemical mishaps on India’s roads

Road accidents involving tankers carrying hazardous chemical materials often pose a serious threat to highway commuters in Vadodara, India.

Now, a first-of-its-kind hi-tech control centre, aimed at minimising losses caused due to chemical and petroleum leakages occurring after road accidents, has been set up in the state. The centre will become functional at Ankleshwar in Bharuch from October 1.

“It is the first such control and command centre in the country, set up especially for chemical leakages and accidents on the roads. It will cover the roads in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and NCR in the first phase,” said Shanker K, CEO of Nicer Globe, which has set up the control room.

“The centralised control room will have seven people with chemical engineering backgrounds. They will have detailed information about each and every chemical and how to tackle the situation in case it leaks on the roads. Each of these control room representatives knows multiple languages including Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam so that they can communicate smoothly with the truck drivers,” Shanker stated.

Nicer Globe is an Indian Chemical Council (ICC) initiative for making the chemical industry and transport safer in the country apart from emergency response.

“We will provide a toll-free number that will be pasted on the tankers carrying hazardous chemicals. In case of any accident, the driver or any commuter can call on the number and talk to our representative,” Shanker added.

Nicer Globe has appointed a team including a policeman and a fireman at every 200 km in different states. In case of emergency, the control room will first ask the driver to take some safety measures. Next, the control room will call the nearest team and direct it to the spot along with an ambulance. And the company that owns the chemical stock as well as the tanker owner will also be informed.

“We are in the process of training the tanker drivers as well as the emergency team about the chemicals and safety protocols to be followed. The idea is to ensure minimum damage to people as well as the environment in case of chemical leakage on the road. We chose Gujarat to set up this control room as it is a chemical industry hub,” Shanker added.

For more information visit www.nicerglobe.org