Assam: Blaze at Namrup Fertiliser Plant raises safety concerns before PM’s tour
09:38 PM Dec 07, 2025 IST
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Laxman Sharma
Updated At : 10:03 PM Dec 07, 2025 IST
Officer-in-Charge of Namrup Police Station, Mintu Boro, confirmed that no human casualties had been reported till the filing of this report.
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Digboi: A major fire broke out on Sunday evening at one of the operational units of Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL) in Assam's Namrup, triggering panic in the area as the incident occurred amid heightened preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Dibrugarh district on December 21.
Sources said the fire was swiftly contained after rapid intervention by disaster response and firefighting teams.
Officer-in-Charge of Namrup Police Station, Mintu Boro, confirmed that no human casualties had been reported till the filing of this report.
“Thankfully, there has been no loss of life,” Boro said, adding that the actual extent of damage to plant property and infrastructure is still being assessed.
The incident has revived memories of a major industrial accident at the same facility in 2020, when an explosion occurred in a pipeline connecting the high-pressure ammonia synthesis gas compressor to the ammonia reactor via the pre-heated furnace in Unit-II.
Officials had earlier attributed that blast to obsolete and outdated machinery. While the standard operational life of a chemical plant is considered to be around 20 years, the Namrup unit is reported to be more than 45 years old.
Authorities remain on high alert and further details are awaited.
In a related development, the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has engaged Projects & Development India Limited (PDIL) to undertake a comprehensive performance study of the Namrup-III plant of BVFCL and identify critical operational and technical weaknesses.
The government has informed a Parliamentary Committee that PDIL has also been tasked with recommending specific remedial and modernisation measures aimed at enabling the ageing unit to achieve optimal operational efficiency. PDIL, a leading public sector consultancy, is widely recognised for its expertise in handling pre-project activities and technical evaluations for new industrial plants.