Visakhapatnam, May 11 (IANS): As residents of five villages affected by the gas leak from LG Polymers India factory near here began returning home after four days, at least four Andhra Pradesh Ministers will spend Monday night in these villages to create confidence among the villagers.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had asked the Ministers to spend the night in the villages.
Agriculture Minister K. Kannababu, incharge for Visakhapatnam district, told reporters that they will have a night halt in the villages along with officials and supervise the arrangements to help restore normalcy.
He said as the emissions from the plant had reduced to zero, people were allowed to return to the villages from 4 pm on Monday.
He along with three ministers on Monday handed over documents relating to payment of Rs 1 crore each to the families of eight of the 12 people killed in the tragedy that occurred on May 7.
The compensation for others who had taken ill will be paid in the coming three days, the Ministers said after a videoconference with the Chief Minister.
They also monitored the clean-up operation of the areas surrounding the plant.
Meanwhile, a statement from the CMO said 13,000 tonnes of styrene gas is being sent back to South Korea.
The civic staff sanitised the entire area and is creating awareness among the locals about the safety measures after the gas leak and how to clean the residuals.
Those who are in hospital for serious ailments would get Rs 10 lakh each and others, who are hospitalised, would receive Rs 1 lakh each as compensation. Also all the families residing in the affected villages will be compensated with Rs 10,000 each. The entire cost of hospitalisation will be borne by the government.
Minister for Urban Development Botsa Satyanarayana said that all public spaces, including open drains, are being cleaned and sanitised in the area. Sanitation liquids will be provided to the villagers for indoor cleaning.
He claimed that the then TDP government led by Chandrababu Naidu gave permission for the expansion of LG Polymers in 2017, despite the fact that it is surrounded by residential areas.
The Minister alleged that in 2018, Naidu again gave permission to the company for expansion. The gas leak occurred post the lockdown relaxations. The plant was closed for about 40 days, during which the chemical reactions took place in the storage tank.
Botsa Satyanarayana said the YSRCP government has appointed a high-powered committee to probe the accident and take stringent action against the company.
The Chief Minister had directed the officials to shift the styrene tanks to the city outskirts and conduct inspections in all such industries.
Kannababu said a new policy on industrial safety will be evolved to ensure that such incidents don't recur in future. A statewide drive would be taken up to identify such hazardous units across the state.