Jagan demands Rs 1-cr ex-gratia

Rajahmundry: Ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore should be given to the families of the deceased in the pipeline blast in Nagaram village of Mamidikuduru mandal, YSR Congress President YS Jaganmohan Reddy demanded here on Saturday.

Recalling the practice in developed countries of imposing higher penalties on the companies, he observed that companies should be forced pay high amount as compensation in such accidents to make sure that they don’t repeat blunders.

Reddy visited Nagaram which was destroyed by the fire in the ghastly accident early on Friday. He interacted with the victims’ family members and consoled them. He visited the hospitals in Amalapuram and Kakinada, where the injured are being treated.

Speaking reporters later, he faulted the GAIL authorities for their negligence which caused major human loss. He demanded the old pipelines be changed. They should be laid away from villages. Quality should be maintained while laying them.

He demanded compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the each coconut tree destroyed in the fire. An amount of Rs 20,000 should be given as pension to each family which lost its bread-winner. He wanted stern action against people responsible for the pipeline blast.

V Hanumantha Rao, MP, MRPS founder Manda Krishna Madiga and former Amalapuram MP GV Harsha Kumar were among the leaders who visited the blast site. They all demanded strong action against those responsible for the mishap.