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Visakhapatnam, May 9
Two days after the LG Polymers gas leak claimed 12 lives and affected hundreds of people, people in the village of Venkatapuram staged a protest on Saturday with three bodies at the chemical plant, demanding justice.
Tension prevailed at the plant when villagers staged a sit-in at the plant door with three bodies when Police Director General Gautam Sawang was visiting the plant.
The DGP, Police Commissioner R K Meena and other officials were inside the plant when protesters blocked the front door, raising slogans demanding the plant be closed and relocated.
Some protesters broke into the facilities of the plant. Police struggled to clear them and provide safe passage for senior officials.
Some local police officers were trying to appease the protesters and persuade them to end the unrest.
Previously, the residents of Gopalapuram, the worst affected among the five villages surrounding the plant, organized a sit-in, raising slogans against the company. The police arrested them and removed them from there.
Several other villagers, including women, also arrived there and demanded that the government come to their rescue by closing the plant.
They expressed fears about the long-term impact of styrene leaking from the plant on the environment and their health. “The government should immediately shut the plant down and move it to another location,” one protester demanded.
Villagers also demanded that a high-government committee set up to investigate the gas leak should hold talks with people in the five villages surrounding the plant and not with company management.
They also wanted authorities to improve the oxygen level in the villages to ensure their early return. They said the government should submit details about the level of styrene in the air and whether it is safe for him to return to the villages.
“The gas leak has seriously affected the health of many of us. There could be a long-term impact. The government should conduct regular health camps to check on our health,” demanded another villager.
Many protesters demanded strong action against the company administration for failing to follow safety regulations. They said that if the siren sounded from the floor, many lives could have been saved.
Styrene had leaked from the plant around 3:45 a.m. on Thursday. The incident claimed 12 lives as more than 400 became ill and had to be hospitalized.
District officials said 10,000 people from five villages were transferred to relief camps. They have been asked to remain in the camps until they are declared safe to return to the village. IANS
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