AP CM announces Rs 1 Cr ex-gratia to each of the gas tragedy victims

Vishakapatnam: In an attempt to mitigate the suffering of Vizag gas leak victims, Andhra Pradesh Chief Mminister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced Rs'1 crore ex-gratia to each of the nine families of the deceased. Apart from this, a compensation package will be provided to the affected people, he said.

The AP chief minister further constituted a high-level committee to probe into the gas leak caused by the chemical manufacturing company, LG Polymers. The gas leak, which happened in the wee hours on May 7, has led to the death of at least 9 people.

Meanwhile, all the other affected people have been admitted in KGH, Vizag. About 348 people are hospitalised, according to official sources.

The Chief Minister said all those put on ventilators will be given Rs 10 lakh compensation each, those hospitalised will be given Rs 1 lakh each and those undergoing primary treatment will be given Rs 25,000 each. Livestock farmers will also be compensated. People living in the most-affected areas will get Rs 10,000 each, the CM said.

The CM expressed caution regarding evacuees going back to their homes. As the concentration of the gas has to be neutralised which will take some time, officials said it was not safe to go back to their villages for the next two days.

It is learnt that the government is transporting defusing material from Gujarat, while continuously spraying water to dilute the effect of the chemical.

A special NDRF expert team will also be coming from Pune to probe into the issue further.

Depending on the inquiry report, efforts would be made to provide employment to the affected families in LG Polymers Company, the Chief Minister said.Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Neelam Sawhney would stay back for two days along with ministers Kannababu, Avanti Srinivas, Krishna Das, Alla Kalikrishna Nani and Botsa Satyanarayana to monitor the situation in Vizag.