Is pollution bomb ticking in AP’s industrial hub?

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam, popular as City of Destiny and Vizag is sitting on a powder keg due to the constant fear of an industrial disaster. The city is known for its spoon-shaped topography with the hills dotting three sides and the sea on the other allowing pollutants to get trapped, limiting the escape route in the event of a major catastrophe.

Visakhapatnam is the major industrial hub with robust infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh with the existence of two ports, shipyards and naval bases. The undivided Visakhapatnam district also has committed investment by ArcelorMittal & Nippon Steel India and NTPC Green Energy Limited of a combined investment of nearly Rs3 lakh crore. The nuclear power plant at Kovvada between the city and Srikakulam also envisages an investment of over Rs1 lakh crore by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). There is no let-up in unabated pollution and industrial accidents in the region causing serious concern among green activists.The HPCL Visakh Refinery blast in 1996, killing at least 60 due vapour cloud exploration is still fresh among the elderly population. Subsequently, be it Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, various units at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City and Andhra Special Economic Zone, Hetero Drugs and Brandix India Apparel City, there have been several fatal incidents.