Check facts before crying foul

Politics in the two Telugu states are being turned into a big joke, more so by the opposition parties. The reason is not because they had never tasted power. Perhaps, it is because they have over tasted power and are now unable to digest the fact that people had asked them to take a break, learn from their past mistakes, and change themselves before aspiring to come to power again.

In Telangana, the BRS is crying foul over loan waiver saying that the government had betrayed the farmers. It says that before elections the Congress had promised to waive off loans of all farmers but now it has slashed the amount required for waiver from Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 17,000 crore.

But, the fact is that the state government had estimated that it would cost them about Rs 31,000 crore and in phase-I it was spending Rs 17,000 crore. It was following the norms of PM Kisan Yojana to waive off the loans and was restricting it to those who are non-IT payers and those who have land up to 10 acres or so. The government claims that it wants to benefit the financially weaker sections of the farmers – not those who are rich.

The pink party also alleged that the banks refused to clear the loans if farmers had Rs 2.1 lakh as loan amount. Banks are insisting that the farmers first pay Rs 10,000. But then that is the normal banking norm. Why make so much noise about it? They are even making fun of gods visiting temples and making all kinds of comments. It would have been better had they clearly noted the norms which the government was following, go to the village level, check if the beneficiaries loans were cleared or not and then put the government in dock with proper data instead of empty dharnas and making all kinds of statements using political lingo which got polluted in last 10 years.

Sometimes, one gets a feeling that the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh and the BRS in Telangana are working in unison as their style of functioning has been same. When in power, BRS leaders were not accessible to anyone, and so were the YSRCP leaders. Even the CMs of the two Telugu states were not accessible to anyone.

In AP, Jagan Mohan Reddy used to travel under the shadow of green curtains and trees were axed on the roads he travelled. Today, he is making all kinds of statements claiming to have shown what good governance is. If that were so why did people confine that party to just 11 Assembly seats and why does he shy away from going to Assembly? Is he accusing the voters or is he giving vent to his frustration?

If the governance was so good, why did 119 blasts took place in pharma companies and 120 people lose their lives? Why didn’t his government implement the recommendations made by the high-power committee led by the then Special Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad after the blast in LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam?

Today, after the unfortunate incident of two blasts within 48 hours, one in Visakhapatnam and another at Parwada, he says the government failed to respond in time.

He claimed that in the case of LG Polymer blast, cheques for Rs 1 crore were given by evening. May be his advisors had briefed him wrongly. Announcement was made on May 7, 2020 but the cheques were given to the kin of the dead on May 11, 2020. On the contrary, the kin of 17 families who lost their bread earners in the Anakapalli Escientia Pharma blast were handed over cheques of Rs 1 crore on Friday. Interestingly, his blue media claimed that the government announced compensation only after Jagan demanded. There cannot be a bigger joke than this.

The YSRCP should perhaps learn from Pawan Kalyan’s honesty who during his speech in gram sabha on Friday said he has popularity among people and voters but lacks administrative experience. That is the magnanimity of a leader. These days even the first-time MLA would boast as if he is Mr Know All.

Politics apart, the main issue of concern is lack of safety measures. Jagan said if protocols are followed accidents can come down. Well said Jagan! But then he needs to answer what prevented his government from implement them. If it had laid focus on such issues than on the construction of a huge palace destroying the historic Rushikonda, splurging public money, perhaps, the Anakapalli pharma blast could have been prevented.

Such incidents are a matter of concern. They adversely impact attracting new industries and spark fear among thousands of workers in the units, especially those dealing with chemicals. These mishaps also exposed how the previous government ignored strengthening infrastructure to manage any such accidents. There is no specialised burns hospital, there are not enough fire stations and there is no mechanism for instant response by disaster management teams.

Reactors play a crucial role in chemical industries. Each industry has multiple reactors, each with a capacity of 1-8 KL. The employees handling always have to be well-trained in handling emergencies and should have proper equipment like fire coats, to protect themselves in case of any mishap. But it appears that there is lack of infrastructure and training in managing emergencies.

Employment of unqualified personnel is said to be another reason for the failure to prevent accidents or deal with emergencies. All that needs to be created now. The former CM should have spoken about this.

It is unfortunate that instead of being practical in outlook and coming up with concrete suggestions, the opposition parties in two Telugu states want to indulge in cheap and narrow political game. This won’t help them win public sympathy.

The government should start with identifying the units which are in red category and ensure that standard operating procedures (SOPs) are put in place immediately.

Ensure that they have fastest response teams to reach the spot and handle the situation in case of any accident. If need be, special teams consisting of police, fire brigade, NDRF teams etc should be created.

It is alleged that the chemical industries are not even storing foam and dry chemicals to deal with any leakage or fire. Along with this, a third party safety audit should be made mandatory for all the 300-odd existing units under red category and those which are likely to be set up in the SEZs. Currently, this regulation applies to only 41 units. Hence, a comprehensive review of the situation and immediate remedial measures are must to protect the human lives and also environment.