Answer is out in the open — uncut grass, uncovered ammo

BHARATPUR, MAY 1: Ask Defence Minister George Fernandes, he blames the elephant grass. Ask military officials, they too blame the grass sa...

BHARATPUR, MAY 1: Ask Defence Minister George Fernandes, he blames the elephant grass. Ask military officials, they too blame the grass saying that it “accidentally” caught fire leading to one of the most devastating losses to the Army’s ammunition stockpile.

While some here admit that the grass acts as a camouflage, the fact is that for the last two years, according to those who work at the depot, the grass hasn’t been cut and was allowed to grow unchecked. Why was this allowed? Neither Fernandes nor local defence officials answer this question.

According to civilian staffers of the depot, who don’t want to be named, earlier the grass was cut every year. This was done during the first three months, before the onset of summer and the entire trimming would be over by March.

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This was because dry grass naturally poses a danger of catching fire. With average temperatures routinely soaring to 45 degrees Celsius in this Rajasthan town, incidents of dry grass catching fire are very common.

In fact, the Bharatpur bird sanctuary, which has almost the same ecological make-up as that of the depot, also suffers from recurrent fires breaking out in its forest area due to dry grass.

The grass found inside the depotspread over 2,000 acresis of wild variety and averages seven feet in height. The depot staffers, including those who are currently injured and have been admitted to the local government hospital, describe how they struggled to fight the fire in the grass that stood even taller than them.

Most of the staffers are under tremendous pressure from the authorities not to speak to the media. But some do speak up. “In my last 33 years of service, I do not recall any single year when the grass was not cut. It used to be a routine annual exercise. But for the last two years, it has not been cut. During our general discussions, we would often mention that the dry grass is very dangerous for the safety of the depot. Little did we know that one day it will lead to such a tragedy,” says a staff labourer at the depot from his hospital bed.

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He is recuperating at a local hospital after he suffered multiple fractures in his right leg when debris hit him while he was on duty on April 28 inside the depot.

“Generally tenders are floated for clearance of the grass inside the depot annually. But I do not know why it was not done for the last two years,” says a Military Engineering Services staffer posted at the depot.

But senior Army officers decline to comment. Those who do have only this to say: wait for the court of inquiry.