Kohli, Rohit in good touch as India go through rigorous training session ahead of 1st ODI
Vadodara (PTI): Senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma looked in good touch as India went through a rigorous training session here on Friday, ahead of their three-match ODI series against New Zealand.
The ODI series starting here on Sunday will be followed by a long T20 season, which includes a five-match series against the Kiwis, the T20 World Cup and then the Indian Premier League.
Both Kohli and Rohit spent nearly one-and-a-half hours against Indian pacers, spinners and throw down specialists after playing two matches each in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Having struck 77 and 131 in the two matches of the premier domestic competition, Kohli went hard against the Indian spinners and pacers alike. Some variable bounce against the throw down specialists in one of the nets did challenge the batting superstar further.
However, India’s middle-order mainstay Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, as well as pacer Mohammed Siraj weren’t a part of the three-hour training session, having played for their respective state teams in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Thursday.
The trio will be linking up with the team late in the evening on Friday.
India captain Shubman Gill also went through his training drills and batting in the nets with comfort, having missed the last two T20Is against South Africa late in December due to a toe injury.
The team had trained at the BCA Stadium at Kotambi here on Thursday as well at the venue set to host its first-ever men’s international game.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Virudhunagar firecracker unit blast: Toll climbs to 25, Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia announced
Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): With most bodies charred beyond recognition, identification remains difficult, police said on Monday, as the toll in the massive explosion at a fireworks unit near Kattanarpatti here rose to 25.
The Virudhunagar district administration has announced Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of deceased.
The accident is one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the region in recent years.
"Bodies were so badly charred that we were able to identify mostly with jewellery that the victims were wearing," a police official told PTI.
He said that the families have not yet claimed the bodies due to the uncertainly in the identities.
The factory owner is absconding, he added.
The accident occurred at the Vanaja firecracker unit, owned by one Muthumanickam, which functions under the Vachakarapatti police station limits.
The unit is reportedly licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Nagpur.
Post-mortem reports have established that the 25 victims, include 22 women and three men, the police official added.
Eight workers, mostly women, are critically injured with 60 per cent burn injuries. Twelve others, including eight policemen, were injured in a second blast on Sunday evening while rescue operations were underway.
Rescue operations were severely hampered for hours, as unexploded materials continued to detonate.
A second blast at 7.20 pm, triggered as an earthmover was clearing debris, caused chaos and injured several responders, including a revenue official.
Meanwhile, sources said about 1,000 people, including the families of the victims and residents of nearby villages, are threatening a road roko, demanding the arrest of the owner of the factory.
Local eyewitnesses, including Ranganathan from the nearby Seervaikarampatti village, described hearing a massive blast that sent "thick black smoke" into the sky.
"Nothing was recognisable. We saw bodies being loaded four at a time into vehicles," he told PTI Videos.
Many of the deceased were from Seervaikarampatti village, with residents claiming that at least 20 victims belonged to their village.
Among those killed was 46-year-old Indrani, a veteran worker of 25 years.
"My mother was the sole breadwinner. My father is disabled and stays home. I have an MSc degree, but I’m working at a petrol bunk to help out, and we haven't even paid my brother's school fees yet," said Madhubala, Indrani’s daughter, while pleading for government employment assistance.
Virudhunagar Collector N O Sukhaputra confirmed that the unit was operating without permission on a rest day.
Preliminary findings suggest the blast originated in a chemical mixing shed, where nearly 40 workers were busy making crackers, a violation of safety norms that typically limit occupancy to four workers per shed.
"Had these workers followed primary safety norms, the casualties could have been minimal," a senior official stated.
Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a high-level probe and directed ministers to oversee relief efforts.
The tragedy follows a similar accident in Vembakottai just days earlier, which claimed four lives, intensifying calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations in the district’s firecracker hub.
The explosion occurred at approximately 3.15 pm on Sunday. Although the fireworks industry is officially shut on Sundays, over 100 workers were reportedly engaged in production.
Later in the day, Sukhaputra said Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia each has been finalised for the families of 25 persons killed in the explosion.
Speaking to PTI Videos, he said the ex gratia cheques are ready for immediate distribution to the legal heirs.
"Out of 25 deaths, we have finished conducting post-mortems on 22 bodies. Already we have cheques (that) are ready,” Sukhaputra said.
The announcement followed intense demands from grieving relatives for financial security and government employment.
