Andalib Akhter / New Delhi
Even as all out efforts are being made to tackle the situation on ground following Vishakhapatnam gas leak incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting in New Delhi today and discussed the measures being taken for the safety of the affected people as well as for securing the site affected by the disaster.
The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah besides some senior officers.
In the morning, the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah talked with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and assured all required aid and assistance from the Centre to tackle the situation. They are monitoring the situation closely and continuously.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also took a detailed review meeting along with the Secretaries of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Environment, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Information and Broadcasting, Members of the National Disaster Management Authority and Director General, National Disaster Response Force and others to chart out specific steps to support the management of the situation on the ground.
The NDRF team with Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defence personnel at Vishakhapatnam was deployed immediately to support the State Government and local administration. The NDRF team carried out immediate evacuation of communities living in the immediate vicinity of the site.
The specialized CBRN unit of NDRF from Pune and an expert team from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur have left for Vishakhapatnam. Besides, Directorate General of Health Services will provide specialized medical advice to the medical practitioners on the ground.
Meanwhile the death toll from the styrene gas leak near Vishakapatnam on Thursday climbed to 11 and the Andhra Pradesh government ordered a probe into the incident, the state police chief said here.
Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy held a high-level review meeting to take stock of the situation and ordered a probe into the matter, state DGP D Gautam Sawang said.
As many as 11 people were killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited plant at R R Venkatapuram near Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Thursday.