Reforms Urged in Industrial Machine Safety After 282 Factory Deaths in Telangana
In Hyderabad, persistent gaps in enforcing industrial safety regulations and the absence of mandatory safety certification for operational machines have triggered calls for regulatory reforms, following 282 recorded factory deaths in Telangana over a five-year period. Khubi A. K. Agrawal, Lead Counsel at Vidhatri Legal, warned that a tendency among manufacturers to prioritise production targets over worker protection continues to leave industrial units exposed to fatal accidents.
Official data reveals that Telangana recorded 65 fatal injuries in registered factories in 2023 alone. Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh reported 71 fatal injuries that same year and 350 deaths over the five-year timeframe. Agrawal noted that these numbers cover only registered factories, leaving out incidents that occur in unregistered industrial units.
While India has an extensive legal framework governing industrial safety, Agrawal stated that its real-world effectiveness depends entirely on implementation on factory floors. Barring a few high-risk items like boilers and pressure vessels that require statutory approval prior to use, most industrial machinery can enter a manufacturing plant without mandatory safety certification. Agrawal pointed out that the Bureau of Indian Standards offers only voluntary certification, which she argued is insufficient for equipment capable of killing an operator in a single use.
Several recent industrial accidents in Telangana highlight these operational hazards. In Sangareddy district, an explosion occurred at the Pashamylaram pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing facility of Sigachi Industries on June 30, 2025. In Hyderabad's Cherlapally area, a 41-year-old worker at Sudarshan Iron Fabrications Company was killed in July 2026 after becoming trapped in a CNC laser cutting machine. The worker's head was severed, pointing to a severe failure of Interlocked Perimeter Guarding, optical safeguarding, or hazardous energy control mechanisms.
Other regional incidents include an August 2024 explosion at Escientia Advanced Sciences in Atchutapuram, Andhra Pradesh, which killed 17 workers and injured nearly 40 others. Another fatal case in Punjab involved a woman working in a home-based industrial setting whose scarf became entangled in machinery.
Agrawal, who has previously worked with Marico and Hindalco, emphasised that machine guarding, supervision, and worker training are critical, especially in smaller manufacturing units where capital for safety infrastructure is limited. Although the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, outlines obligations for employers, manufacturers, and machine suppliers, Agrawal said the central challenge remains verifying that machinery meets safety standards during ongoing operation rather than merely satisfying specifications at the point of purchase.
