విశాఖ గ్యాస్ లీక్ పై ఐదు కీలక ప్రశ్నలు || Visakha Gas Leak: Five Questions That Demand Answers ||
From TV visuals, I understand that there was a serious leakage of toxic gases at the manufacturing site of LG Polymers in Venkatapuram village near Pendurthi on the outskirts of Vizag.
I gather that hundreds of people upto 3km around the site, especially women and children, have got exposed to the gases and have fallen seriously ill. They are being evacuated to different hospitals in the city.
It is unfortunate that such a ghastly accident should take place at a time when the district administration is busy engaged in COVID operations.
There are some important aspects that I wish to bring to your notice about this accident, as follows.
LG Polymers is a South Korean company, constantly pampered by the successive governments. It stands on government ceiling surplus land valuing hundreds of crores of rupees and the company had dragged the government into litigation, when the government tried to take back the land. Despite this, how did APPCB grant Consent for Establishment (CFE) and Consent for Operation (CFO) around the beginning of 2019 for the unit's expansion? APPCB did not apparently take clearance either from the State govt or from the Union Ministry of Environment.
In the first instance, this unit being a highly polluting one and its being close to residential areas, APPCB should not have allowed it to expand its operations. How did APPCB readily permit such an expansion?
This is not the first industrial accident to take place in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. Around 30 to 40 accidents took place in the past resulting in several workers and civilians losing their lives, with no promoter prosecuted and no officer of the State govt punished. It implies collusion between the officers and the promoters of the polluting industries. I would not be surprised if the promoters have had support from the political leaders of all hues.
When the first phase of the recent lockdown ended, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) was apparently granted to LG Polymers, ostensibly on the ground that it was an "essential" industry. By no stretch of imagination, a plastics manufacturing unit like this can be called "essential". Someone senior in the govt should be held responsible for this lapse.
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విశాఖ గ్యాస్ లీక్ పై ఐదు కీలక ప్రశ్నలు || Visakha Gas Leak: Five Questions That Demand Answers || From TV visuals, I understand that there was a serious leakage of toxic gases at the manufacturing site of LG Polymers in Venkatapuram village near Pendurthi on the outskirts of Vizag. I gather that hundreds of people upto 3km around the site, especially women and children, have got exposed to the gases and have fallen seriously ill. They are being evacuated to different hospitals in the city. It is unfortunate that such a ghastly accident should take place at a time when the district administration is busy engaged in COVID operations. There are some important aspects that I wish to bring to your notice about this accident, as follows. LG Polymers is a South Korean company, constantly pampered by the successive governments. It stands on government ceiling surplus land valuing hundreds of crores of rupees and the company had dragged the government into litigation, when the government tried to take back the land. Despite this, how did APPCB grant Consent for Establishment (CFE) and Consent for Operation (CFO) around the beginning of 2019 for the unit's expansion? APPCB did not apparently take clearance either from the State govt or from the Union Ministry of Environment. In the first instance, this unit being a highly polluting one and its being close to residential areas, APPCB should not have allowed it to expand its operations. How did APPCB readily permit such an expansion? This is not the first industrial accident to take place in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. Around 30 to 40 accidents took place in the past resulting in several workers and civilians losing their lives, with no promoter prosecuted and no officer of the State govt punished. It implies collusion between the officers and the promoters of the polluting industries. I would not be surprised if the promoters have had support from the political leaders of all hues. When the first phase of the recent lockdown ended, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) was apparently granted to LG Polymers, ostensibly on the ground that it was an "essential" industry. By no stretch of imagination, a plastics manufacturing unit like this can be called "essential". Someone senior in the govt should be held responsible for this lapse.