It has been almost 48 hours since the gas leak from the LG Polymers, which has claimed 11 lives and left hundreds sick. The residents of R.R. Venkatapuram still remain a bundle of nerves.
Most of the residents, carrying their children, ran out of their homes. There was no time to pack bags or carry even a water bottle. Many did not even care to lock their houses.
“I ran holding the hand of my daughter. I could not find my husband in the melee. It was a mad rush amid thick fog. After running for a while, we boarded an auto-rickshaw. Finally, we found the Goshala shelter home. My husband is somewhere at Gopalapatnam. We had no time to pack our bags. I have not changes my sari since I left home,” said Lakshmi, a resident of R.R. Venkatapuram.
Had a warning siren been sounded a little earlier, more lives could have been saved, said some residents.
Not very far from the Simhachalam foothills, daily life in R.R Venkatapuram is more that of a village than a typical city even as it comes under the limits of GVMC. The demography is a mix match of people from various socio-economic strata.
Shelter homes
Most of the affected families have gone to their relatives houses, while the others are taking shelter at facilities arranged by the civic body, Simhachalam Devasthanam and others at Gopalapatnam, NAD Junction, Pendurthi and Simhachalam. They are eagerly waiting to return home. “The locality is a very peaceful. The gas leak incident we want to forget but it is difficult to give the horror a go-by . A siren from the company would not have led to such loss of lives. May Lord Simhadri Appanna protect us from such incidents,” said Nagaraju, another resident.
On Friday, a few youth from R.R. Venkatapuram went to their houses and brought clothes and other essentials.
The rumours created on Thursday night that there was a fresh gas leak triggered the more panic, they said.
Eager to return home
“We are expecting a call from officials so that we can return home, but it is yet to happen. People even called their acquaintances who work closely with the administration. But, there is no clarity at all,” said K Chinna, a painter from RR Venkatapuram.
