Victims of Vizag gas leak meet High Power Committee members, seek compensation

With the release of the lethal styrene gas from the LG Polymers Plant at RR Venkatapuram village, on 7 May, several hundreds of individuals had fallen ill after inhaling the toxic gas. The localities surrounding the plant including RR Venkatapuram, Nandamuri Nagar, Kamparapalem, Padmanabha Nagar, Venkatadri Garden, Srinagar, SC-BC Colony, and BC Colony were affected during the mishap. In a bid to probe the cause behind the leak, a High Power Committee (HPC) was constituted by the Andhra Pradesh State Government. On Sunday, the High Power Committee interacted with the victims of the gas leak incident in Vizag and the local representatives of political parties to receive their inputs.

The residents of RR Venkatapuram village informed the committee that they need compensation as their village is severely affected by the Vizag gas leak as compared to the rest of the villages. The survivors of the other affected villages have requested to provide permanent health cards. Furthermore, they urged the committee to establish a multi specialty hospital for regular health and to offer employment to the 500 people who had lost jobs in the factory.

The High Power Committee also considered inputs from members of different political parties including the TDP, Congress, CPI, and CPI(M) among others regarding the gas leak in VIzag. The representatives informed that strict action must be taken against the management of the LG Polymers Plant for their sheer negligence. Stating that this incident was the first chemical disaster in Visakhapatnam, they said that the company had not conducted mock drills, and operated without environmental clearance. They requested to cancel the company’s licence and to shift the company. The leaders also shared that compensation to the crop damages should be paid and fishing at the Meghadri Gedda reservoir must be restricted until the water is tested.

Responding to this, Visakhapatnam District Collector, V Vinay Chand (IAS), said that the State Government has made arrangements for regular health checkups on long term basis through Andhra Medical College. He added that the water samples from Meghadri Gedda reservoir were already tested by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in wake of the gas leak in Vizag. However, it is proposed to test once again through a reputed laboratory to confirm its suitability.

Later on, the High Power Committee enquired the representatives of the L.G Polymers India Pvt Ltd on the issues related to standard operating procedures. The committee also questioned the employees regarding the shutdown procedure, design particulars of the styrene storage tank, on-site emergency plan mock drills, and emergency preparedness of the company.