3 chemical blasts in 70 days, Vizag residents live in fear

Repeated blasts in the chemical companies of the Visakhapatnam pharma hub have pushed the people of the port city into a panic mode. A man died and four others were injured in a massive fire that broke out in a solvents plant at the Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. The fire was doused after a sevenhour-long operation. Senior chemist K. Srinivas Rao, 40, died and G. Mallesh, 33, was admitted in a hospital, and three others sustained minor injuries.

The Daily Guardian has come to know that there were about 30 people in the night shift when the incident happened; they all ran away seeing the massive fire. Srinivas Rao jumped from the first floor of the company to escape, but caught fire and died on the spot. Local RDO Kishore said, “The fire broke out in a chemical reactor and created loud explosions, spreading panic in Pharma City and nearby residential areas after recent episodes of major blaze on 29 June and 7 May. People were seen shifting to safer places.” The trade unions have alleged that it is due to the gross negligence of the government and companies that the lives of poor labourers were lost. 

Andhra Minister for Industries M. Goutham Reddy ordered the officials to ensure the best treatment of the injured. He gathered information from the officials. Former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu tweeted: “Shocked to hear about the explosion in Vizag’s Pharma City. The visuals coming in look dreadful. I pray that the workers doing the night shift inside the premises come out safely.”

It’s the third incident in 70 days in the port city, two weeks after a gas leak from Sainor company in Pharma City, which claimed the lives of two people and affected four others on 29 June. Another major disaster on 7 May at the LG Polymers plant where Styrene gas leaked from the plant claimed 12 lives.

BJP leader Lanka Dinakar said, “A series of gas leakage and blasts in Vishakapatnamhave created fear among the people. There is gross negligence on the part of industrial and pollution control departments; they have not taken any effective measures to stop such incidents. The government of Jaganmohan Reddy has failed to provide safety and security of the people. The people of Visakhapatnam nowadays live on bomb shells.”