Gautam Sawang, the Director General of Police (DGP) of Andhra Pradesh, on the 9th of May, confirmed the Visakhapatnam Gas leak situation to be under control.
On the 7th of May, a chemical gas leaked from LG Polymers, a chemical plant, which killed 12 people and left more than thousands injured.
After visit to the spot, DGP Sawang told reporters that more technical teams from Delhi will be reaching here later in the day to have further look into the situation and decide the way forward.
He said, “The situation is absolutely under control. All that reactions and leakages have been plugged. There is no matter of concern anymore.”
DGP said he reviewed the situation and had discussions with the technical teams on the ground. Mr. Sawang also conducted a meeting with technical experts, scientists and the special team from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF.)
Mr. Sawang assured the safety of the residents of 5 villages near the plant and said, “Experts yesterday sought 48 hours as per protocol to bring everything under control and to meet all parameters. Everything is under control but to be on the safer side they have sought the time.”
Speaking about the development in the investigation against LG Polymers, DGP Sawang said, “The committee has been set up. It will come here and take all expert and technical inputs. We will wait as they are more technically competent to say how, why and under what circumstances this happened.”
He said the police registered a case against the Company and applied relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC.)
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Avanthi Srinivas said the situation had improved a lot in three days and was totally under control. In addition the temperature in the leaked tank had come down to 90 degrees Centigrade from 150 degrees on the evening of the 8th of May.
Mr. Srinivas said seven ministers, chief secretary and several other officials were working to restore normalcy.
Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, is also monitoring the situation on a regular basis.
Stay tuned for further updates.
