VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday said an online transfer of Rs 10,000 each has been made as financial assistance to 19,893 people who were affected by the styrene gas leak from the LG Polymers plant at RR Venkatapurm in Visakhapatnam on May 7.
Speaking to the affected persons who had recovered and returned to their homes and district officials through video conference from his camp office at Tadepalli in Guntur district, the Chief Minister said the money was being directly transferred to the victims' accounts and ward volunteers will visit their houses to check whether they got the money or not.
Jagan said over Rs 33 crore was released towards payment of compensation. He said when the accident happened around 3 am, the administration acted with alacrity and deployed 110 ambulances to shift victims to hospitals. The government's immediate priority was then to restore normalcy and provide help to victims. He said for the first time, a compensation of Rs 1 crore was paid to the 12 families whose members died due to the leak.
Responding to a victim's plea, the Chief Minister announced that one member each from the 12 families will be given jobs. Jagan also assured that based on the reports submitted by the committees which are looking into the circumstances that led to the leak, action will be taken against the company.