CHENNAI: PMK has urged the government to dispose of a huge load of ammonium nitrate from a warehouse located near Chennai harbour. The demand was made following the news report that a total of 740 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, that was seized by officials, has been stored in a warehouse near Chennai harbour since 2014.
PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss on Thursday referred to the Beirut blast and said that the chemical stores in Chennai must be disposed of safely at the earliest.
"There is a risk of a similar explosion due to ammonium nitrate in the Chennai warehouse. To prevent this, the ammonium nitrate explosive substance in the warehouse should be safely disposed of and used for other purposes such as composting," he said in a tweet.
Tuesday's explosion in Lebanon's port city of Beirut killed 135 people and injured about 4,000.
Buildings were damaged for miles around the city after 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilisers, stored at the facility for six years, reportedly caused the explosion.
Apparently referring to media reports, the PMK leader said in another tweet, "The news that 740 tonnes of ammonium nitrate explosive material have been stored in a warehouse near the Chennai port for five years is very shocking.
This chemical substance is the cause of the biggest explosion in Lebanon!" Reports in a section of the media claimed the ammonium nitrate stored in 37 containers in the city was imported by a Karur-based firm and seized by Customs officials as the chemical was brought without obtaining the required licence and permission in 2015.
(With PTI , ENS inputs)