TENSION AT LG POLYMERS PLANT AS VILLAGERS DEMAND CLOSURE
The protesters placed the bodies in front of the factory main gate as part of the agitation
VISAKHAPATNAM (AP): High tension prevailed as irate villagers staged a protest on Saturday demanding immediate closure of the LG Polymers plant in RR Venkatapuram vil
lage, where a styrene vapour
leak from the plant claimed 12 lives and left over 300 people hospitalized with various ailments.
The protesters placed two bodies of the dead in front of the factory main gate as part of the agitation while some youths barged into the plant even as state Director General of Police D G Sawang was inspecting the vapour leak spot and talking to the management on the measures taken to restore normalcy.
The bodies were brought to the village for cremation on Saturday from the KGH mortuary after post-mortem.
The angry villagers, however, stopped the ambulances in front of the plant gate and
laid the bodies on the road. Emotions ran high as the villagers demanded that the plant be shut down immediately as it completely ruined our lives.
Hundreds of villagers, who were provided shelter in Visakhapatnam after the vapour leak, returned to the village in the morning, raising slogans against the factory management and demanding its closure.
The police posted near the plant for security duty tried to prevent the villagers from going near the plant but the
latter broke the security cordon and staged a sit-in protest near the factory gate.
Police initially took some of the protesters into custody and whisked them away but scores of others entered the scene subsequently.
At one point, many of the villagers barged into the plant through a small entrance gate and one woman was seen falling on the DGP'S feet and pleading that the unit be closed forthwith.
A stumped Visakhapatnam police commissioner R K Meena directed his officers and men to drive out the villagers from the factory premises, following which police necked them out.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government said the situation was “normal” in RR Venkatapuram village.
Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang and Special Chief Secretary (Industries) Karikal Valaven inspected the plant and spoke to the LG management and later told reporters that “everything is normal and there is no need to panic.”
Temperature at the styrene storage tank, where the vapour leak occurred, has come down, as also the PPM (ambient air quality) level.
“Definitely the air is also fresh and there is nothing to worry about. In the coming days, life will come back to normalcy,” the DGP said.
“Just to be on the safe side, as per protocol, people are being asked to stay away for 48 hours. That period will end tomorrow.
Scientists and experts from different parts of the country, including New Delhi, are coming here. They will review the situation and give final clearance,” he added.
Valaven said temperature at the plant has come down, as well as the PPM level.
“Experts from the Petroleum University, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and others are coming here. After they inspect, we will take further required steps,” the Special Chief Secretary said.