Vizag gas leak | Victims stage protest at KGH demanding better treatment

We are being discharged even though we are unwell, they allege

A woman affected by the gas leak, with her newborn at the paediatrics ward of KGH in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

Chaos prevailed at King George Hospital (KGH) here on Tuesday, as victims of the LG Polymers gas tragedy staged a protest seeking higher compensation and better medical care.

They alleged that in a bid to give them lesser compensation, they were being discharged from hospital even though they were experiencing nausea and discomfort.

Several women came out of the ward where they were undergoing treatment and put forth a list of demands. Some women alleged that while they were promised several lakhs of rupees as compensation, they were now being asked to leave the hospital after being given only ₹25,000. Some women alleged that they were not being given proper medical care.

While appreciating the gesture of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in granting ₹1 crore as ex gratia to the bereaved families, they wondered what they would do with the meagre amount of ₹25,000. “Take away our plots and homes and hand them over to the company, and give us homes and plots at a safe distance away from the plant,” a woman said.

“Why should we relocate? We have been living there for several years and we will not vacate the place. The company should be shut down and shifted elsewhere,” another woman remarked.

Meanwhile, a woman who was undergoing treatment at Rajendra Prasad Ward came out with her baby, alleging that her baby was unwell but she was being discharged. She took the baby into the Paediatrics Ward and the baby was examined by doctors. She said that doctors had advised not to breastfeed her baby and that the infant’s condition was deteriorating. The duty doctors advised her to give bottle milk (infant formula) to the baby.

The woman said she has high diabetes. Her 14-year-old son, who began vomiting after inhaling the gas, was given treatment and sent home on the first day itself. She alleged that the boy was discharged without proper treatment. Her newborn girl, who was treated at the adjacent Paediatrics Ward, was discharged after her condition improved. “We have admitted her again to monitor her condition,” Dr. P. Venugopal, Head of the Paediatrics Ward, told The Hindu on Tuesday evening.