Survivors of the gas leak at RR Venkatapuram are in no mood to return home, as they are yet to fully come to grips with the accident that claimed the lives of 12 of their neighbours last week.
Few people returned to spend the night at their homes on Monday, the first day after the government declared the locality safe. Apart from the fear of another gas leak, residents are also complaining of a pungent smell in their homes which is making them uneasy.
Many residents from the five areas of RR Venkatapuram – Venkatapuram, SC-BC Colony, Kamparapalem, Nandamuri Nagar and Padmanabha Nagar – who had returned to their homes on Monday morning, went back to their relatives’ houses for the night. Only a handful of people slept in their homes. A large number of families are yet to return as of Tuesday morning.
Locals said that on Monday morning, a woman from the area reportedly fell unconscious while cleaning her house. This sparked panic in the area, with many leaving their homes again by the evening.
‘Pungent smell’
“There is a pungent smell in all the rooms of our house. On Monday, we cleaned some parts of the house and left by evening. My family is scared of sleeping in the house,” said Mohan Rao, a resident of RR Venkatapuram, who came to clean his house on Tuesday morning.
P. Venkatesh, a resident of Ramalayam Street, who slept in his house on Monday night with his family, said that despite scrubbing the floor of his house twice, it still gives off a pungent odour.
“My family was unable to sleep properly due to the smell. Moreover, we are yet to shake off the fear in our minds,” he said.
A ward secretary from RR Venkatapuram said in Venkatapuram area, there are around 1,050 houses in which nearly 4,000 people reside. On Monday night, only around 100 to 200 people slept in their homes. By Tuesday morning, around 500 people came back to their homes.
Thorough cleaning
On Tuesday morning, locals were seen cleaning every household item. They say that even after washing clothes and curtains three times, the smell remained. All the household things are taken out and kept on the terraces to expose them to the sun. Some residents were seen using incense sticks to flush out the smell.
Many residents, especially elderly people, attended a medical camp set up by the Health Department. ASHA workers and ward volunteers have been visiting all homes to enquire about the health of locals and spread awareness on dos and don’ts. Food was supplied to locals at major junctions, while the GVMC deployed water tankers to supply drinking water.
There were reports that two ward volunteers reportedly fell unconscious while opening a room in a house at Venkatapuram. However, officials said that it was due to heat and overwork and not related to the gas leak.
