Visakhapatnam: Playing mobile games on that fateful day saved a plenty of lives

Visakhapatnam: Their habit of playing video games till wee hours saved a plenty of lives on the fateful day when the gas leaked at LG Polymers. Thanks to an army of youngsters residing at RR Venkatapuram, Nandamuri Nagar, Padmanabha Nagar, SC/BC Colony and Kamparapalem, they normally stay awake in the night, playing games on their mobile phones. Ever since the lockdown came into force, these youngsters got used to playing mobile games till late into the night. On Wednesday, it was just another night for them as they settled before their mobile phones for another set of games. Around 2:30 am their alarm bells began to ring as something pungent hit their nostrils. "Initially, we thought it was a disinfectant spray used to contain novel coronavirus. In a few minutes, we realised that it was something else. Soon, LG Polymers came to our mind and that's when we started enquiring with our friends," recalls K Sattibabu, a resident of Kamparapalem.

When their suspicion about the possible chemical leak from the plant grew stronger, those engaged in playing mobile phones swung into action. "The first thing we did was to call up the security personnel of the plant. Our worst fears came true when the security staff confirmed the leakage of the styrene monomer gas from the plant, we rushed into neighbourhood and banged the doors alerting them to leave the place with immediately," says P Santosh, a resident of RR Venkatapuram.

Contacting their friends, a group of 40 youngsters in all the five villages alerted over 1,000 people by knocking the doors and passing the message. "It was not all. We also chipped in to shift those who fell down on the roads unconscious after inhaling the toxic gas to the nearby hospitals," adds Santosh. The young gang also teamed up with the cops and NDRF teams in shifting the gas leak victims to safer places and hospitals. Addiction to mobile phone games is considered a danger sign. "But it turned out to be a boon for many families when the incident took place as we are normally awake till 4 am," concludes Santosh.