As many as 44 workers of Nekkanti Sea Foods, a majority of them women, were taken ill following a gas leak in the unit at Kattamuru village of Peddapuram mandal on Monday night.
The incident came to light only on Tuesday morning when the workers were admitted in a private hospital in the city. Though no casualties were reported, both the management and officials of the Labour Department remained tight-lipped.
According to workers, who were undergoing treatment, the incident took place in the processing sectionduring the night. The workers started falling unconscious after inhaling a gas, suspected to be ammonia. Workers of the packaging section rushed to the spot and shifted all the 44 workers to a nursing home at Jaggampeta in two company buses. Doctor at the nursing home, however, expressed inability to treat so many patients at one go and advised the management to shift them to Kakinada.
Accordingly, the workers were admitted in a private hospital and by Tuesday morning, 16 of them were discharged after being given first aid. The condition of the rest of the workers was said to be stable.
Compensation demanded
A fact-finding team from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) found that the unit hired women in large numbers on contract basis and failed to provide basic facilities to the workforce.
The company was paying them Rs. 200 a day and there was no provision of Employees State Insurance and Provident Fund to the workers. It demanded a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh each to all the victims and regularisation of services of all the workers immediately.
Representatives of the CPI (M) too visited the hospital and expressed shock over the incident.
Wondering why the management kept the public in the dark and did not even inform the police, the leaders sought a fair deal to the workforce.
