Officials from Coromandel International Limited, following instructions from Collector V. Vinay Chand, conducted an off-site emergency mock drill after simulating an ammonia gas leak at Mulagada here on Thursday.
As part of the drill, an ammonia gas leak was simulated on the plant premises which in turn led to an off-site emergency in nearby Mulagada. Ambulances and fire tenders reached the spot from the Coromandel plant.
Ambulances and fire tenders from Andhra Petrochemicals Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and St. Ann’s Hospital also aided in the rescue operations. Mulagada villagers were evacuated by Coromandel rescue teams to the nearest assembly point.
Senior AVP-Manufacturing, M. Gnana Sundaram, explained about the preventive measures being taken by the industry continuously to ensure safe operations. He also explained to the locals simple steps to be followed in the event of an ammonia leak.
According to the officials, for the past one week, emergency preparedness awareness creation activities were carried out for Mulagada and nearby villages through village leaders, Sachivalayam staff and volunteers, team interaction, display banners on dos and don’ts in local language and extensive cognizance through audio-visuals display by mobile vehicles.
Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, J. Siva Shankar Reddy, lauded the Coromandel staff for conducting the drill and also suggested to locals to participate in such drills to be aware about the activities to be carried out during emergencies.
Mandal Revenue Officer B.V. Ramani and Assistant Environmental Engineer, Pollution Control Board, Mr. Sreeram Murthy were present.
