Chennai: The Union Environment Ministry is set to release a safety protocol for reopening of units and industries after being closed for over a month during the national lockdown in the wake of the gas leak tragedy in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
At a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was decided to issue a clear protocol and check list must be drawn up to ensure there is no mishap of the kind seen in Visakhapatnam where at least 11 people died and more than 800 hospitalised following a massive styrene gas leak at a LG Polymer plant.
A large number of people who rushed out of their houses from many areas in Visakhapatnam after social media rumors of a second leak in LG Polymers factory during the wee hours of today started returning to their houses in some hours.
Though normalcy returned in many areas, people can be seen with fear. Most of the people who evacuated from their homes spent the night sitting in their four-wheelers on the road or stretching out on footpaths.
On social media, rumours stating that the factory would explode and that there was another leak sprouted. This led people 4 to 5 km away from the plant to move out of their houses, causing traffic snarls on the National Highway at 1 am.