Updated 6 June 2020 at 10:26 IST
Vizag Gas Leak: Police arrests over 90 people for planning to protest at LG Polymers plant
The Vishakhapatnam police on Friday arrested over 90 people, including people from the left parties, who were planning to protest at the LG Polymers plant.
The Vishakhapatnam police on Friday arrested over 90 people, including people from the left parties, who were planning to protest at the LG Polymers plant on June 5 on the occasion of World Environment Day. According to the police, the arrest took place at around 4:30 am as the protestors had not taken any permission for the protest. An FIR has been filed against 96 people.
Speaking to the news agency ANI, CPI (M) leader Gangadhar said, "We wanted to stage a silent protest and just wanted to show the damage caused to the environment and loss of human life by the LG Polymers India plant, but the police arrested us at 4: 30 am and we were taken to police stations."
Meanwhile, on June 3, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary to identify and take actions against persons responsible for the failure of law in permitting LG Polymers to operate without statutory clearances. This came a day after the inquiry committee headed by former Andhra Pradesh High Court Judge B Seshasayana Reddy submitted its report in the Vizag gas leak matter.
Earlier on May 19, the Supreme Court had refused to interfere with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order. The Tribunal had directed LG Polymers, the owners of the plant where the gas leak happened, to deposit Rs 50 crores for the damage caused by the Styrene gas leak. A bench headed by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit refused to entertain the petition filed by LG polymers challenging the order of the NGT.
Vizag Gas leak
Styrene gas leaked from LG Polymers chemical plant in RR Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam in the early hours on May 8 and quickly spread to villages in a five-kilometer radius, killing at least 12 people and impacting about 1,000 people with many collapsing to the ground as they tried to escape the toxic vapours.
Around 2,000 mt tonnes of chemical gas Styrene was leaked, according to sources. Among the dead were two children, aged six and nine, a first-year medical student and two people who fell into a well while fleeing the vapours from the plant which was getting ready to reopen after the lockdown. Around 3,000 people were evacuated by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams from Imhachalam, Gopalapatnam, Vepagunta.
(With ANI Inputs)
Published By : Manjiri Chitre
Published On: 6 June 2020 at 10:26 IST