Poisonous Gas Leak: Government ought to View the Safety Threat Seriously – Mohammad Shafi

New Delhi 7th May 2020: Mohammad Shafi, national general secretary of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) expressed deep sorrow in the death of several people due to poisonous gas leak at Vishakapattanam. The leak has left hundreds of people sick as well. A sum of rupees up to 1 crore should be paid ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased and the sick victims, commensurate with the gravity of the damage.

Government should view such factories functioning without conforming to the safety norms seriously, and ensure proper safety measures and precautions to prevent recurrence of such calamities are in place. The damage would have been huge but for the lockdown. There was gas leak in Chhattisgarh too, apart from Vishakapattanam. Seven affected labourers are undergoing treatment in the incident.

Such disasters are a warning to the governments to review the threats of projects including GAIL pipeline that are being implemented in the name of development, without following adequate safety norms, said Shafi. He conveyed his grief to the families of the victims.