Trade unions on Thursday demanded action against the LG Polymers chemical plant in Visakhapatnam. They also demanded compensation for the victims.
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In a statement, the All-India Trade Union Congress said the incident “again brings forth the issues of occupational safety and health, not only for those who are at the work place but also for all those who happen to be living in the vicinity of such plants”.
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Demanding an inquiry into the incident, the AITUC said: “The government should bear the expenses for all those who have fallen sick. The AITUC also demands that all safety and health issues of the workforce be kept in mind and the Centre and the State governments and authorities concerned should look at the safety requirements when the companies/factories reopen after the lockdown.”
In its statement, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said the plant located in a thickly populated area should have ensured that machinery and gas storage facilities were maintained properly during the lockdown.
“This shows that the governments, both at the Centre and the State, have not drawn any lessons from the Bhopal gas tragedy...LG Polymers must not be allowed to go scot-free... The company also must be made to pay not less than ₹50 lakh as compensation to the families of those who lost their lives; adequate compensation must also be paid to all the other affected people; the company also must be made to bear the entire expenditure for medical treatment of all those affected by the gas leakage,” CITU said.
