CHENNAI: In the wake of an ammonia leak at a seafood processing unit in Tiruvallur that claimed seven lives, the Tamil Nadu govt will constitute a high-level committee to audit hazardous industries in the state and prevent such accidents in the future. “Chief minister C Joseph Vijay has issued orders to form the committee, and steps were being taken to set it up at the earliest,” labour minister J Mohamed Farvas informed the assembly on Monday.The ammonia leak accident happened at St Peter and Paul Seafood Exports Pvt Ltd in Kannigaipair near Periyapalayam on Sunday, in which seven guest workers died. Around 40 others were undergoing treatment in intensive care units in govt and private hospitals, and 27 others were under medical observation. There were 74 workers, including 70 women, on the premises of the industry when the ammonia leak occurred. The minister said the govt would obtain reports from the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health, the public health department and the member secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board within 24 hours. The CM had directed officials to submit a comprehensive report within three days, said the minister in a suo moto statement issued under Rules 110.The state has 6,669 hazardous industries out of a total of 54,954 industries. The govt would take all necessary measures under the relevant rules and regulations to prevent such incidents in future, he added.“The CM has announced a solatium of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the five women who died in the accident. The govt will bear the expense of transporting the bodies to the native states of the deceased workers and ensure the immediate release of provident fund and Employees’ State Insurance benefits to their families,” he said.He added that the chief minister had directed officials to provide the best possible medical care to the workers undergoing treatment.
