Vizag gas leak: Sanitation activities get underway at the affected villages

The gas leak tragedy which took place at the LG polymers plant in Vizag has shaken the whole city. With the release of lethal gas from the chemical plant, as many as five villages including RR Venkatapuram, Nandamuri Nagar, Kamparapalem, Padmanabha Nagar, and SC were affected. Several hundreds of individuals from these localities had fallen ill after inhaling the toxic gas. Cattle and other animals were also affected by the tragedy. Trees too had paid the price as the gas withered their leaves. As Vizag is still reeling from the aftermath of the incident, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has begun rehabilitation activities at the affected villages to restore normalcy in the aftermath of the gas leak in Vizag. Led by GVMC Commissioner, G Srijana (IAS), the corporation is working towards improving the liveability in the five affected villages.

On Monday, Andhra Pradesh state representatives, including Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD), Botcha Satyanarayana, Tourism Minister, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperation, Kurusala Kannababu, and Minister of Roads and Buildings, Dharmana Krishna Das, along with Visakhapatnam District Collector, V Vinay Chand, and GVMC Commissioner, G Srijana, visited the affected villages and interacted with the public. The ministers oversaw the restoration activities taken up by the GVMC in the villages affected by the gas leak in Vizag.

In order to improve public health conditions, the government has deployed over 700 sanitation workers in five villages to clean up the main roads, internal roads, drains, and remove the corpses of livestock that perished during the gas leak. Water tankers were used to clean the roads and households in those areas. Additionally, sanitation activities including spraying of sodium hypochlorite solution and bleaching powder were carried out by the GVMC. Public announcements to create awareness regarding the guidelines to be followed by the public were organised.

30 tankers of potable drinking water were supplied to the households of these five villages affected by the gas leak in Vizag. The GVMC Commissioner paid a field visit on Monday and monitored all these rehabilitation activities. She directed the Water Resources Department in-charge Engineer to resume water supply activities through tap connections. She further instructed the authorities to purify the stored water in the households of these affected villages. The GVMC Commissioner ordered the corporation officials to distribute 20,000 masks to be distributed among the residents of these 5 villages. The officials were asked to provide food for the survivors of the gas leak tragedy. The Assistant Director of the Horticulture Department has been ordered to remove and dispose of the wilted trees.

The Commissioner appealed to the public to open their doors to let out the toxic gas in case it had been trapped inside the homes. GVMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. KSLG Sastry, Water Resources Department Engineer, B Venugopala Rao, Executive Engineer, D Murali Krishna, thirty sanitary inspectors, sixty sanitary supervisors, seven Assistant Engineers at Water Resources Department took part in the rehabilitation drive in the five villages affected by the gas leak in Vizag.