Communications lag? Asks ex NDMA adviser who led Vizag disaster drills

In this article, senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah outlines about the Vizag tragedy and how it was a nightmare turning into reality for Brigadier BK Khanna (retd), a man who had thrice led mock drills for exactly these kinds of disasters in precisely the same location where the gas leak disaster happened.

New Delhi: As if the ongoing claustrophobic panic unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic is not enough, 36 years after the worst gas tragedy on the plant in Bhopal, it was deja vu at an industrial hub and surrounding areas around Vepagunta in Visakhapatnam.

As national TV ran horrific visuals of the breathless havoc created by the poisonous invisible fumes of the toxic chemical styrene that leaked from a plant LG Polymers, it was a nightmare turning into reality for Brigadier BK Khanna (retd), a man who had thrice led mock drills for exactly these kinds of disasters in precisely the same location where the gas leak disaster happened on Thursday morning.

Core affected areas

"I had conducted industrial disaster mock drills in the same industrial area in Visakhapatnam on three occasions. The last one was in 2017-18 aimed to check preparedness. This is an area where there are many surrounding villages in the vicinity. I see some delay in conveying to the surrounding populations of the gas leak. Because of which evacuations did not happen in the way it should have. And that is why so many people have been affected," Brig Khanna told ETV Bharat.

"As soon as the company realized that there was a possibility of the gas leak going ‘offsite’ from ‘onsite’, they should have first alerted the authorities. It would be the district authority that would have then led the evacuation plan."

LG Polymers gas leak

Read:Visakhapatanam gas leak: Death toll reaches 11, CM Jagan announces compensation

‘Onsite’ is when the disaster is contained within the originating unit, while ‘Off-site’ is when the disaster spreads beyond the boundaries of the originating unit.

After a long period of the nationwide lockdown, the LG polymers plant had just restarted operations when the leak happened at around 2:30 AM Thursday.

LG Polymers core zone

That the Vizag industrial locality was a potentially hazardous zone can be concluded from the fact that it had been the site of quite a few mock drill sites which are selected on the basis of the threat assessment.

The former Brigadier was the founding advisor to the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) when the body was formed in 2005 with General NC Vij (retd) as the vice-chairman.

LG Polymers core zone

Chaired by the Prime Minister, NDMA has been providing Rs 1 lakh to every district in the country to carry out mock exercises and drills.

On the preponderance of armed forces personnel in the NDMA, Brig Khanna said, “The Armed Forces are able to manage unforeseen incidents. It is akin to preparing for war. There are threats which can be natural or man-made. Accordingly, threat assessments are made and preparedness is organized.”

Styrene fumes, used for making plastic and resins among a host of other industrial applications, engulfed the nearby areas, largely comprising villages, suffocating at least 10 people to death while more than a thousand are being treated in hospitals with the death count expected to rise.

Read:Vizag Tragedy: Styrene gas leak and its effects

Brig Khanna further said, “In case of disasters like these, the first thing to ensure is whether there are adequate resources and assets to manage the disaster. If not, the second thing is to inform higher levels. Thirdly, the locals have to be informed. And from there on, the district authorities take over for many things including evacuation.”

LG Polymers core zone

Pointing out that the LG plant should have kick-started its operations in a staggered manner as is the usual practice whenever it comes to hazardous materials, Dr Nina Khanna, a disaster management expert, said, “Whenever gas is being used and there are people around, the plant should have first been partially opened. It should be done in phases.”

It is to be noted that there are about 1,900 Major Accident Hazard (MAH) units spread across around 300 districts of the country. These are the sites where mock drills of the types conducted by Brig Khanna are organized.

These MAHs are besides the thousands of unorganized sector units dealing with hazardous material posing complex disaster risks.

With about 150 MAHs, undivided Andhra Pradesh has the third-largest concentration in India after Maharashtra and Gujarat.