Status quo at the plant was restored on Saturday morning, the company said in a statement.
A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, set up a five-member Committee to probe Thursday's gas leak incident in the chemical factory, in which 11 people were killed and 1,000 exposed, and submit a report before May 18.
Emotions ran high as the villagers demanded that the plant be shut down immediately as it completely ruined their lives.
Over 100 hospitalised due to the gas leak which took place at LG Polymers chemical plant in Gopalapatnam.
Unconscious children being carried by parents in their arms, people laying on roads, health workers scrambling to attend to those affected by the styrene vapour leak and residents fleeing were some of the scenes that played out near Visakhapatnam on Thursday, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
The technical glitch caused the temperature in the chemical storage tank to rise above the safety level of 20 degrees, leading to gasification and consequent evaporation of styrene, he said.
The chief minister announced a committee to probe into the mishap and also said the government would talk to the LG Polymers management seeking job for the kin of the deceased in any of its businesses. Speaking to reporters after conducting a review meeting, Reddy also announced Rs 10 lakh each to those undergoing treatment on ventilator support and Rs 25,000 to those who took treatment as out-patients after developing health complications due to inhalation of the styrene vapour.
On Thursday in Visakhapatnam, hundreds of villagers, most of them children suffered the consequences of the vapour leak like irritation in eyes, breathlessness, nausea and rashes, and over 100 people were admitted to government and private hospitals. Several police personnel, who came for the rescue operation, also suffered symptoms like breathlessness, irritation in eyes and fell unconscious.
Staff at the Simhachalam north railway station, which is near the chemical plant LG Polymers started feeling suffocated and burning sensation in the eyes soon after the leak. Trains crossing the railway station stopped from 8:35 am to 12 noon.
Pradhan also asserted that the fumes that were seen coming out was a 'technical' issue and there was no need to panic.
Hours after the fatal early morning leak, the Gopalapatnam police registered the case against the management of the LG Polymers Ltd under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life and personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt).
'All the animals -- buffaloes and dogs -- in the proximity of the factory are dead.' 'The situation is so serious that almost one lakh people from nearby localities have moved to safer places fearing the after-effects of the gas leak.' 'There is lot of panic.'
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 1 crore each to the kin of those killed in the incident.
This is Styrene gas that affects the central nervous system, throat, skin, eyes and some other parts of the body, he said.
'All is well in Visakhapatnam for now.'
Naidu claimed that he never saw such a situation like how it was when Reddy, the YSRCP chief, ruled during the past five years.
The city's average air quality index (AQI) stood at 220 at 12 noon, improving from 263 at 4 pm on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation, and assured all possible assistance to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The prime minister also chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess the situation.
Sportspeople across the country offered condolences to the families affected in the Visakhapatnam gas leak tragedy on Thursday.
Here are other gas leaks that made headlines in the last few years:
In a communication to all states and union territories, the NDMA said due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units, it is possible that some of the operators might not have followed the established standard operating procedures.
'Silencing citizens has become a major institutional process under this regime.' 'The anti-Indian argument is a bogey -- meant to silence independent thinking people in India and turn us into goats and sheep.'
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