Parts of Nagaram village wore a deserted look today, a day after the massive blaze caused by gas pipeline burst claimed 16 lives here in the East Godavari district.
A pall of gloom has set over the village, where some villagers are yet to come to terms with the tragedy and are still in a state of shock.
Some of the locals have left the village, while some of them said they are in a dilemma, whether to stay back or shift.
“Innocent people lost their lives in the incident only due to non-repair of the leaking gas pipelines... it should be ensured and all necessary measures should be taken to prevent such incidents in future,” one of the villagers said.
Some other villagers complained, “We are not able to live safely in these circumstances... the gas leakage has been going on for the past few days, then why was it not addressed?”
A section of the residents blamed the GAIL authorities for the accident, alleging that they failed to act, despite their several complaints over gas pipeline leakage for the past few days.
Meanwhile, a high-level inquiry committee constituted by the Central Government to probe the mishap, today, visited the village, where the fire had spread to a radius of half-a-km.
According to preliminary reports, the fire sparked after a tea vendor lit the stove at around 5 am in the village, where the leaked gas had already enveloped the area, police said.
With government announcing an ex-gratia of ₹25 lakh to the next of kin of those who died, one of the villagers noted that one entire family – of the tea vendor, with six members, perished, wondering who would be there to collect the amount.
Some residents also demanded total removal of the gas pipelines passing through their village expressing fear that such incidents may occur in future, while others said they should be replaced with superior quality ones.
Rajahmundry Lok Sabha member Murali Mohan today visited a hospital, where some of the victims are undergoing treatment.
Some kin of the victims confronting Mohan at the hospital sought what action is being taken to punish those responsible for the mishap.
Mohan, however, tried to pacify them.
“After completion of autopsy, the 15 bodies were handed over to their relatives, who conducted the final rites last night,” Amalapuram DSP M Veera Reddy, told PTI.
All the 15 bodies, including 13 charred, have been identified with the help of relatives and location from where they were found, he said.