VISAKHAPATNAM PORT TRUST CONTINUED UNINTERRUPTED OPERATIONS DURING LOCKDOWN Staying in tune with the Shipping Ministry''s decision to keep the major ports in the country running for clearing cargo by declaring it an essential service amid lockdown, Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) is continuously making its loading and unloading operations of dry bulk cargo. VPT has taken up uninterrupted port operations, observing precautionary measures to contain corona virus pandemic and also to minimise the pollution levels due to cargo handling at port.

LG POLYMERS GAS LEAK VICTIMS 4,000 GET 10,000 COMPENSATION LG Polymers gas leak victims who did not get compensation following some technical glitches received Rs 10,000 each. About 4,000 persons from the affected villages received the compensation on Tuesday and Wednesday. A total of 6,398 families were affected due to gas leak. Of them, 1,250 families did not receive the compensation due to various reasons. Local leaders and colony welfare association representatives have brought the lapse to the notice of the district administration and Ministers. A door-to-door survey was conducted by the secretariat staff. Compensation was paid to eligible persons after the preparation of the final list in the past two days. Compensation was announced by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to those who get discharged from the hospital. As many as 19,893 persons living in the affected villages were identified and majority of people were given compensation of Rs 10,000 each. While the legal heir of those who were killed in the mishap received Rs 1 crore, every family member in the affected villages of the plant got Rs 10,000 each as compensation.

KING GEORGE HOSPITAL NURSE TESTS POSITIVE A nurse working on contract basis at trauma care unit in King George Hospital (KGH) got infected with coronavirus. The woman used attend her duty at KGH by travelling from Gnanapuram area which is in the containment zone. Despite suffering from fever for the past five days, she continued attending her duties without leave. However, when swab samples were collected, she was tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. About 34 primary and secondary contacts were identified and sent for isolation. Of the 34,24 are PG students and three of them are nurses and other staff members. All of them will be tested for Covid-19. Based on the results, they will be sent to Covid-19 hospital. As a part of precautionary measure, the ICU at trauma care unit was vacated and the ward has been sanitised completely.

CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION REGISTERS FIR AGAINST SUSPENDED DR SUDHAKAR RAO The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the alleged manhandling of suspended government doctor K. Sudhakar Rao by Visakhapatnam police, has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against him. It had already registered an FIR against unknown police and government officials with regard to the mishandling. The FIR against Sudhakar was registered on a complaint by a head constable, the CBI booked the doctor under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 353, 427 and 506 for assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty, mischief and criminal intimidation.

LG POLYMERS INDIA HAS ABSOLUTE LIABILITY FOR GAS LEAK, SAYS NGT South Korean company LG Polymers India has absolute liability for the loss of life and public health in the gas leak incident at its plant in Visakhapatnam, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said while directing that the interim penalty of Rs 50 crore would be spent on compensation to the victims and the restoration of environment. The National Green Tribunal directed that a restoration plan be prepared by a Committee comprising two representatives each of the Environment Ministry and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and three representatives of Andhra Pradesh government. The NGT also junked the company''s plea seeking review of its May 8 order slapping on it the Rs 50 crore interim penalty saying that it is justified in taking suo motu cognisance of the matter. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that final calculation of compensation may be assessed by a committee comprising representatives of Ministry of Environment Ministry, CPCB and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute. Justice Sheo Kumar Singh, said that the committee will be at liberty to associate/co-opt any other expert institution or individual. The Secretary, MoEF may ensure constitution of such committee within two weeks. The Committee may give its report within two months. It also directed Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary to identify and take appropriate action against persons responsible for failure of law in permitting the company to operate without statutory clearances within two months and give a report.