Around 95 workers fell ill after being hit by a pungent gas at a manufacturing unit near Visakhapatnam.
Visakhapatnam:
Workers of an apparel manufacturing unit at Brandix Special Economic Zone in Achyutapuram near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, who fell ill due to a mysterious gas leak, were stable as they were being treated at various hospitals.
The state government is yet to issue a statement on the incident, with opposition parties slamming the state government for its alleged failure to prevent such incidents.
According to the latest count, around 95 workers fell ill with nausea and vomiting after inhaling pungent gas in the air at the manufacturing unit on Tuesday night.
He was undergoing treatment at hospitals in Anakapalli, Achyutapuram and Visakhapatnam.
This was the second such incident in two months after the June 3 incident where more than 300 women workers fainted after complaining of burning in the eyes, nausea and vomiting.
The report submitted by a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad on June 3 on the gas leak has not been made public by the state government.
The report of an official committee headed by the Anakapalli District Joint Collector was also not disclosed.
On June 3, it was suspected that ammonia gas had leaked from the nearby Porus Laboratories unit.
A team of experts from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad visited the laboratory and conducted tests to determine the cause of the leak, while the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board ordered the laboratory to be shut down.
Porus Lab was closed for a few days after the accident but soon resumed activities.
Subsequently, APPCB and the government did not disclose the reasons for the incident.
State Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath, in whose Anakapalli constituency the Brandix SEZ falls, did not respond to calls for clarification.
According to official sources, the minister has asked District Collector P Ravi Subhash to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and submit a report.
The Collector visited some hospitals and talked about the medical treatment being provided to the victims.
Seeds Intimate Apparel India Pvt Ltd, where the two incidents took place, said in a statement that the “affected associates” were in stable condition after Tuesday night’s incident.
“Some of our colleagues complained of an unpleasant odor in the atmosphere and as a result, some of them were taken to the nearest hospital for medical precaution. The condition of the affected colleagues is stable,” Seeds said in a statement.
Seeds said the safety and well-being of their partners is of the utmost importance to this.
MLC and Telugu Desam Party general secretary Nara Lokesh alleged that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government is not waking up from its deep sleep though such accidents are happening time and again.
Lokesh said, “Two incidents in two months at Brandix SEZ have clearly exposed the government’s failure to take corrective action. The Chief Minister is turning Visakhapatnam into ‘Visakhapatnam’ (City of Tragedy), which is called the City of Fortune. goes.” a statement.
BJP state president Somu Veeraraju also targeted the state government and said that this gross negligence is obvious. “Has the government given up its responsibility of monitoring industrial safety,” he questioned.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)