Concerned Alarm Didn't Go Off During Vizag Gas Leak, Says Andhra CM

Hyderabad, TELANGANA — Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy pointed a finger at the LG Polymers’s security measures during his press briefing on the gas leak at the plant in Visakhapatnam on Thursday which killed 11 people.

Reddy said, “I am concerned that an alarm did not sound when the gas leak took place.”

Reddy’s government announced  Rs. 1 crore as compensation for families for the eleven people who died after they inhaled aerosolised polystyrene that leaked from LG Polymers’s plant.

The government will also request the company to provide job for a family member of the deceased, the CM said.

Expressing concern over the mishap which took place even as the state is under lockdown, Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “The chemical was stored in high quantities in the facility. LG Polymers is a reputed multinational company. Such incidents happening in such a company is even more worrisome”.

The South Korean company which runs the plant is a part of the LG Corp. conglomerate.

READ — A Resident Called The Police At 3.30 AM: How The Vizag Gas Leak Unfolded

A committee has been constituted to probe into the incident. Special Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, secretary of environment and forest, secretary of industry, the Visakhapatnam collector, secretary of pollution control board, and the Visakhapatnam police commissioner will be part of the committee, the CM
said.

“The committee will probe the causes of the incident. It will also give a report to the government suggesting measures that can be implemented to prevent such accidents from happening again,” Reddy said.

Though the committee will look into relocation of the company to prevent such mishaps from occurring in residential areas, the CM said that the company will also have to compensate those who died in the incident.

Three YSRCP MLAs will be available at the mishap spot to monitor the situation, Reddy said.

Andhra govt announces compensation, financial assistance for victims

A total of 348 affected people were hospitalised on Thursday, the CM said. The health condition of those affected has been improving steadily, Reddy said.

The YSRCP government will grant Rs. 1 lakh as medical aid for people who are admitted in hospitals in Visakhapatnam due to breathing difficulties. A total of Rs. 10 lakh will be given to those patients who had to be placed on ventilator support.

Patients admitted in primary health care centres will be given Rs. 25,000 as
financial aid, Reddy told media in Visakhapatnam.

“People affected by this mishap will not have to spend even one rupee for medical aid from their pockets,” Reddy said.

A total of 15,000 people residing in Venkatapuram colony, which is the closest to LG Polymer company and four other residential colonies will be given Rs. 10,000 each as compensation, the CM said.

The government will also give mental health support for all residents of five colonies located close to the private company, Reddy said.