One of India’s foremost industrialist, Mr Aditya Vikram Birla, died at 9.30 am (1ST) after prolonged illness in a hospital in Baltimore, US. He was 51 and is survived by his wife, Mrs Rajshri Birla, son, Mr Kumaramagalam Birla, daughter, Ms Vasav Datta Birla. His family was with him at the time of his death. Mr Birla has been in Baltimore for the last four months for the treatment of a slip disc. According to Mr SK Saboo, Executive President, Grasim Industries, the cremation is likely to take place at Banganga. Mr Birla did his schooling in Calcutta and obtained a BSc degree from St Xavier’s College. He later went to the US and graduated with a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was the chairman of several blue-chip companies including Grasim Hindalco, Indian Rayon.

‘Human failure’ caused Jharia mine disaster

The official teams investigating the causes of one of the major coal mine disasters of recent times, which resulted in the death of at least 64 miners in the Gashtand underground mine of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), seem convinced that human failure was the cause. According to them, the tragedy could have been averted had the persons on different strategic jobs on the mine surface in the second shift on September 26, “not neglected their duties”. Conceding that it was impossible to check the vast sheet of water of the Katn river from gushing into Gaslitand and a few adjacent mines, following heavy rains in the Jharia region, inundation of the mines, either by ram water or by seepage from streams beneath the surface, is not an uncommon occurrence and routinely tackled. In most cases, operations are stopped and miners are brought out.

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