Brazil's burning ban takes effect as Amazon fires rage
Porto Velho (Brazil), Aug 29: A 60-day ban on burning in Brazil takes effect Thursday after a global outcry over fires raging in the Amazon and data showing hundreds of new blazes in the rainforest.
The decree issued by President Jair Bolsonaro comes after escalating international pressure over the worst fires in the Amazon in years that have ignited a potentially damaging diplomatic spat between Brazil and Europe.
Thousands of troops and firefighters have been deployed since the weekend to combat the fires, along with two C-130 Hercules and other aircraft that are dumping water over the hardest hit areas in the country's north.
More than 1,600 new fires were ignited between Tuesday and Wednesday, taking this year's total to almost 85,000 the highest number since 2010, official data shows.
More than half of them are in the vast Amazon basin.
The new figures comes as UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday mooted a meeting of key countries to drum up support to tackle the fires that have also devastated swaths of Bolivia.
"We are strongly appealing for the mobilisation of resources and we have been in contact with countries to see whether, during the high level session of the General Assembly, there could be a meeting devoted to the mobilization of support to the Amazon," Guterres told reporters.
International offers of help for combatting the fires is a hot-button issue in Brazil, with Bolsonaro and others insisting on the country's sovereign rights over the Amazon.
Bolsonaro on Wednesday accused France and Germany of "buying" Brazil's sovereignty after the G7 offered USD 20 million in Amazon fire aid.
Vice President Hamilton Mourao -- widely considered to be a moderate voice in Bolsonaro's government -- also weighed in publicly for the first time on Wednesday, insisting in an opinion piece that "our Amazon will continue to be Brazilian."
The governors of several states in the Amazon told Bolsonaro in a meeting on Tuesday that international help was needed.
Their plea came after Norway and Germany halted around USD 70 million in Amazon protection subsidies earlier this month.
The United States is ready and willing to help Brazil fight forest fires in the Amazon, President Donald Trump said Wednesday, criticising the G7 for failing to consult Bolsonaro over its initiative.
Bolsonaro also renewed a demand Wednesday that French leader Emmanuel Macron withdraw "insults" against him, fueling a war of words between the two men that threatens to torpedo a huge trade deal between the European Union and South American countries, including Brazil.
In the escalating row, Macron has accused Bolsonaro of lying to him about Brazil's climate change stance, while Bolsonaro has slammed Macron's colonialist mentality.
Even as Bolsonaro's decree was published Thursday, there were already doubts over how Brazil would enforce the two-month ban on burning in the remote region where deforestation has surged this year.
"It will not be useful," a skeptical fruit shop owner in Porto Velho, the capital of the northwestern state of Rondonia, told AFP.
"There's insufficient supervision."
Experts say increased land clearing during the months-long dry season to make way for crops or grazing has aggravated the recurring problem of fires.
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Chhattisgarh Vedanta power plant blast: Death toll rises to 20; sixteen workers undergoing treatment
Sakti (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): The death toll in a blast at the Vedanta power plant in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district has mounted to 20 with seven more workers succumbing to injuries, while 16 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, officials said on Wednesday.
The deceased include six labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, three each from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, two from Bihar, and one from Madhya Pradesh.
The opposition Congress has demanded registration of an FIR against the plant management and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
The explosion occurred on Tuesday afternoon in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the Vedanta Ltd power plant located in Singhitarai village, leaving several workers with severe burn injuries.
According to officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine others succumbed to injuries soon after the incident.
Seven more workers have died in hospitals, raising the toll to 20, Sakti Collector Amrit Vikas Topno told PTI on Wednesday.
He said that a total of 36 workers were affected in the blast, and 20 of them died.
"Of the 16 injured workers, five are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Raipur, while 11 others are in hospitals of Raigarh, the neighbouring district of Sakti," he added.
Topno added that every possible effort was being made to provide the best medical treatment to the injured.
The deceased were identified, and their family members are being contacted. Arrangements have been made to transport the mortal remains to their native villages via ambulance following the postmortem examination and to provide immediate financial assistance, he said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each deceased worker and Rs 50,000 for those injured.
Vedanta Power has also announced a Rs 35 lakh compensation for the family of each deceased worker, along with employment support.
The company will also provide Rs 15 lakh to each injured person, ensure salary continuation until recovery, and offer counselling support, a statement from the plant management said.
The chief minister has ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of the Bilaspur division, assuring strict action against the guilty.
He directed officials to ensure free and proper medical treatment for all injured and emphasised that no negligence in their care would be tolerated.
The district administration has also ordered a separate magisterial probe, while the company has initiated its own internal investigation.
Collector Topno has appointed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Dabhra to conduct the magisterial inquiry.
The SDM has been asked to submit a report within 30 days covering key aspects, including the cause of the accident, whether it was due to technical or human error, and details of safety inspections carried out at the plant.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has demanded registration of an FIR against the plant management and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
State Congress communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla on Wednesday alleged negligence on the plant management's part and accused the government of attempting to shield those responsible.
He also demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased and Rs 50 lakh for the injured.
The construction of a 1,200 MW coal-based thermal power project (two units of 600 MW each) in Singhitarai, originally owned by Athena Chhattisgarh Power Ltd, started in 2009, but remained stalled between 2016 and 2022.
Vedanta acquired the plant in 2022, after which a 600 MW unit was completed and commissioned in August last year, while the second unit is still under construction.
The deceased have been identified as Amrit Lal Patel, Thanda Ram Lahre, Udhab Singh Yadav, Rameshwar Mahilange, and Nadeem Ansari (all from Chhattisgarh); Susanta Jana, Sheikh Saifuddin, Manas Giri, Kailash Mahto, Shibnath Murmu, and Dipankar Singh (West Bengal), Tarun Kumar Ojha, Abdul Karim and Ashok Parhiya (Jharkhand), Raju Ram, Pappu Kumar and Brijesh Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Aakib Khan and Ritesh Kumar (Bihar), and Chitranjan Dhulai of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.
