Vizag gas leak: NGT takes suo motu cognisance, to hear matter today

The plea said that the State Pollution Control Board, as well as L, has failed to act in accordance with the law and the said “willful” negligence has resulted into deaths of residents

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday took suo motu cognisance on Visakhapatnam gas leak incident and decided to hear the matter on Friday. The matter titled “In re: Gas Leak at LG Polymers Chemical Plant in RR Venkatapuram Village Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh” will be heard by a bench headed by NGT’s chairman AK Goel. Earlier today, NGO CWEL Foundation founder Banu Bansal moved a petition seeking directions by the NGT for a judicial probe into the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident, in which at least 11 people have lost their lives. The NGO sought directions to constitute a high-level committee headed by a retired Justice and officers not below the rank of joint secretary to prove the gas leakage incident.

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“We have filed a petition in the NGT over the Visag gas leak incident,” said Gaurav Bansal, advocate for the NGO CWEL Foundation. He said that they have also sought directions to constitute an independent committee to probe the incident and identify the responsibility of the district, government authorities, company management and pollution control board in the incident. The petition said that a gas leakage of such a kind shows that officials of the Andhra Pradesh State Pollution Control Board have failed to act in accordance with the letter and spirit of the law of the land adding that it is because of the negligent and careless attitude of the officials that people died in the incident..

Gas leak at LG Polymers’ Visakhapatnam plant leaves 3 dead, over 500 sick

As many as 3,000 people were evacuated to safe places and at least 250 were admitted to various hospitals, according to the initial reports

An accidental leakage of styrene gas from Korean company LG Polymers’ plant at Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam left dead at least three persons, including a child, early morning on Thursday. Around 500 people were reported to have got sick and many more struck by panic. Woken up in horror with breathlessness and a burning sensation in their eyes, people ran helter-skelter after the gas emission spread to the village at around 3.30 am. Some villagers fell unconscious on roads while fleeing, according to eyewitness accounts.

King George Hospital’s G Arjuna said high concentration of gas near the leakage point and a longer period of inhalation by people in sleep made them sick. Those in critical condition were given oxygen support. As many as 3,000 people were evacuated to safe places and at least 250 were admitted to various hospitals, according to the initial reports. Local TV channels even showed visuals of cattle lying motionless.

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Vizag collector Vinay Chand said the administration rushed ambulances and other vehicles to evacuate people soon after it got the information at around 4 am. The efforts were still on to contain the leakage completely, he said. Established in 1969, the LG Polymers manufacturing plant had been shut for the past 40 days due to the nationwide lockdown in force to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It produces hypol and EPS polymers, polystyrene, expandable polystyrene and other styrene polymers, according to the company’s website. LG Chem’s Indian subsidiary had taken over this plant some 15 years ago…

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