Within a span of two months, there was one more gas leak incident at the Seeds Intimate Apparel India Private Limited (Seeds), located within the Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC), at Atchutapuram in Anakapalli district on Tuesday evening.
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The company officials said that as per initial reports, about 17 women employees were hospitalised. However, the employees present there and the members of the CITU said that over 80 women employees had fallen sick after inhaling the gas.
The incident reportedly occurred between 7 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.
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The employees had complained of nausea, burning sensation in the eyes, stomach pain, and diarrhoea after reportedly inhaling some kind of a gas that had a bad odour, and were admitted to various hospitals in Anakapalli.
R. Ramu of CITU said that about 36 of them were admitted to NTR Government Hospital at Anakapalli and 46 others sent to two private hospitals.
However, as per the police, about 50 employees were admitted to two hospitals, including NTR Hospital.
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As per the company officials, none of them was in a serious condition.
On June 3, there was a similar incident in the same unit, and over 200 women employees were hospitalised then.
Koteswara Rao of CITU said that so far the inquiry report on the first incident had not been made public. He demanded that strict action be initiated against the company.
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At that time, the Ministers, MPs, MLAs, district Collector and officials from the APPCB had visited the factory and promised to take action, he said.
Superintendent of Police, Anakapalli, Gowthami Sali, visited the factory to assess the situation.
“The safety and well-being of our associates is of utmost importance, and we have evacuated all of them. The affected associates are in a stable condition,” a company release claimed.