The LG Polymers gas leak near Visakhapatnam in May 2020, which claimed 12 lives and harmed more than 500, was supposed to be a loud wake-up call not only for the state of Andhra Pradesh but also for the rest of the country. A flurry of activities followed - committees were constituted and legal action was taken. Yet, we are back to square one in 2024.
On Wednesday, oil leaked and caught fire at an Escientia Advanced Sciences facility in the Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone in Visakhapatnam district, killing 17 workers.
The state government responded, as it usually does, by ordering a probe and announcing ex gratia payment of Rs 1 crore to each bereaved family. The same thing happened after the LG Polymers tragedy. Incidentally, the committee that looked into the 2020 accident was headed by the current chief secretary, Neerabh Kumar Prasad.
The panel had found several lapses in emergency response and safety protocols, and discussed in detail the woeful state of compliance mechanisms. The factories department and pollution control board had come in for scrutiny. So what has been done since 2020?
Mock drills and awareness programmes were conducted, but they seem to have been perfunctory. Many other accidents have occurred in Visakhapatnam district alone since the LG Polymers tragedy. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu himself has said that as many as 119 incidents in the district’s industrial zones have killed 120 people over the last five years. Clearly, no lessons have been learnt.
What could be done for Steel City which is also a finance, pharma and health hub?
Of the more than 200 factories in the district, 130 fall in the so-called red category. One is baffled as to why they have not yet implemented the Centre’s revised Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions code. Besides, fire at a pharma unit raises questions about the industry regulator.
The state itself should have a proper regulator because the factories department does not have enough inspectors or field staff. And the less we speak about pollution control boards, the better. Regulatory mechanisms are in an abysmal state across the country, too - government data shows that more than 3,000 people died in factory accidents between 2018 and 2020. It is time to get rid of the bureaucratic lethargy on this issue.