Vijayawada: Despite the LG Polymers disaster in 2020, the erstwhile Visakhapatnam district has no off-site emergency plan, even though 29 major hazardous industries are located in the region and several fire mishaps have continued after 2020.An off-site emergency plan is essential where major hazardous industries are located to address their threat perception. The plan had been updated way back in 2007. An effort had been made in 2021 to strengthen its provisions by engaging an external agency with a fee of Rs 13.5 lakh. The agency’s recommendations have not been put in place. However, the District Crisis Group has met under the chairmanship of the district collector on July 16 last. It entrusted to factories department officials the task of putting in place an off-site emergency plan to deal with future industrial mishaps. The officials have been given three months to prepare the plan. Now that the TD-led government is planning to develop Visakhapatnam as the financial capital of AP, the administration appears to be confident of making the steel city a safe zone for industries. Visakhapatnam has repeatedly been in the news for fire mishaps in industrial units, pharma hubs and so on in recent times. Two industrial fire mishaps have taken place in this district, four in Parawada, Atchutapuram, and in Anakapalli during the last four years. Recently, 17 workers died when a chemical compound exploded at Atchutapuram SEZ. In another blast at a pharma unit in Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City, three workers succumbed to injuries. During the reorganisation of districts, Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli have become sensitive areas due to the presence of 17 and 12 major hazardous industries respectively. Both the districts are likely to get separate off-site, region-specific emergency plans. Factories sources propose that the amount to be paid to the third party for preparing the off-site emergency plan be collected from the major hazardous industries along with the license fee. The plan must be updated on a regular basis, as new industrial units come up in the districts during the course of time. Visakhapatnam factories joint chief inspector J. Siva Sankar Reddy said, “The off-site emergency plan for Visakhapatnam will be prepared soon. We are identifying fire-prone industrial units, keeping a check on their maintenance, ensuring proper functioning of alarm mechanisms in case of mishap, and providing training to workers on how to deal with mishaps to ensure the safety of all.”
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