ONGC staffers are in a state of furious agitation. This is said to be the third helicopter crash the organisation has seen in the past two years. Workers have refused to buy pilot error or inclement weather as reasons for the crash and have accused the ONGC of ignoring safety measures. Scores of workers are transported between the rigs on choppers on a daily basis and the union says it has been lobbying for safer flight conditions. A nation-wide strike has been averted with the Bombay High Court’s intervention. But the two inquiries ordered by the Centre is small comfort for the grieving relatives.
By Priyanka Kakodkar