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5-member panel to probe styrene leak
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday constituted a five-member committee to probe into the Thursday’s gas leakage from LG Polymers’ plant in Visakhapatnam
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday constituted a five-member committee to probe into the Thursday’s gas leakage from LG Polymers’ plant in Visakhapatnam that claimed 12 lives, officials aware of the matter said.
The committee will be headed by special chief secretary (environment, forests, science and technology) Neerab Kumar Prasad, they added. Special chief secretary (industries and commerce) Karikal Valaven, Visakhapatnam collector V Vinay Chand, commissioner of police R K Meena and Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board member secretary Vivek Yadav will be among its other members.
The officials said the committee will inquire into causes of the leakage and verify whether the company had adhered to all safety protocols. It will study if there are long-term effects of the gas leakage on the surrounding villages and recommend proposed action to be taken against the company in case of any negligence, they added.
The committee will also suggest measures to be taken by industrial units to prevent such mishaps and submit its report within a month.
State industries minister Mekapati Gautam Reddy, who visited the plant and held meetings with the officials, said experts were making efforts to neutralise styrene gas at LG Polymers plant and it might take another 48 hours to do so.
He said the leakage occurred during the maintenance and that production at the plant had not commenced during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy separately held a review meeting and directed officials to identify hazardous factories in and around Visakhapatnam located in densely populated areas. He asked them to prepare a roadmap to make Visakhapatnam a safe and risk-free city by shifting hazardous industries away from habitations.
Reddy instructed officials to immediately release ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to each of the families of the deceased, Rs 10 lakh each to patients on ventilators, Rs 1 lakh each of other patients and Rs 25,000 to those who underwent treatment.
Health minister Alla Nani said the government was involved in the relief and rehabilitation measures as per the Reddy’s instructions. He said 15,00 people in five villages around the plant were evacuated and rehabilitated on a war-footing after the news of the gas leakage was received.
Nani said 554 victims were shifted to hospitals and 128 of them have completely recovered. He added the other 305 include 52 infants. Nani said 121 others were being treated at private hospitals and were out of danger.
