Vizag, The City of Destiny will recover quickly

We have an ongoing crisis in Vizag with a Styrene leak from LG Polymers plant. According to initial reports, this is due to poor maintenance on account of the State-wide and National lockdown. The tragic incident occurred early this morning leading to widespread panic early morning. The area of the incident is about 5.7 kms from Vizag Airport and away from the more bustling parts of the Town though it is unfair to say that few people live close to the plant. Emergency workers and Central Government Disaster management agencies were involved in the rescue of more than a 1000 affected people

The leakage started at 2.30 am this morning and it appears have been contained

Both State and National agencies are involved in resolving this situation with the PM calling a special meeting this morning

The final death toll is likely to be higher than the current tally of 8-10 with numerous admitted unconscious at the Govt KGH Hospital. However, given the overall health infrastructure of the city, most will get the best treatment required.

Why should one expect Vizag to recover quickly?

• The Municipal Corporation is extraordinary well organised: Over the last 25 years, the Vizag Municipal and Urban Development Authorities have run a progressive and modern municipal corporation that can quickly respond and manage disasters

During the Ongoing COVID-19 Crisis, Vizag District reported just 39 cases for a population of nearly 5 million

• Vizag has a large Central Government Strategic presence through the Eastern Naval Command, A new BARC facility, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Ship Building Yard, Steel Plant and Refinery. India’s submarine based missile testing is done out of Vizag. It therefore gets massive extra attention from the Central Government to keep its assets safe during such tragedies.

• Vizag had faced HudHud just a few years back and it is very difficult to find any evidence of its impact a few years after the severe destruction. Vizag has proven to bounce back soon

The Crisis is slowly being controlled and with a very strong healthcare infrastructure, it is likely to lead to a quick recovery for most affected patients. It needs to be seen if the incident was an accident or a result nefarious activities by a neighbouring country that appears to be keen on targeting India during the current COVID-19 crisis.