Bhubaneswar: Four women and a 15-year-old girl from Odisha’s Keonjhar district died after inhaling ammonia gas following a leak at a seafood processing unit in Tamil Nadu‘s Tiruvallur district on Sunday.The deceased were identified as Gumani Juanga (15) of Rangamatia village; Phulomani Juanga of Kodipasa village; Shibani Juanga of Dubanali village; Geeta Juanga of Rangamatia village; and Champabati Juanga of Tala Champei village. The four women were in their early and mid-20s.All the deceased belonged to the Juang community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), and had migrated to Tamil Nadu for work.Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased. Majhi said the Odisha govt is taking all necessary measures to bring back the mortal remains of the deceased following post-mortem examination.According to a bulletin issued by Tamil Nadu’s health and family welfare department, two fatalities were reported on Sunday evening, while three more women died by 7 am on Monday, taking the death toll to five.Of the 74 workers, mostly migrants, who fell ill following the leak, 67 are undergoing treatment at four govt hospitals in Tamil Nadu.A state govt team comprising labour and ESI department special secretary Rajesh Agrawala and officials Madan Mohan Paik and B B Acharya are currently stationed in Tamil Nadu. According to them, preliminary inquiries indicate that 20-25 of the injured workers could be from Odisha. The identities of the deceased were confirmed with the help of fellow Odia workers employed in the area.State labour commissioner Indramani Tripathy said the three officials would remain in Tamil Nadu for another 2-3 days to coordinate with local authorities and facilitate medical care for the injured. Another labour department official is scheduled to travel to Chennai on Tuesday to oversee the return of the mortal remains of the deceased.Back in the victims’ villages in Keonjhar district, families were inconsolable. At Rangamatia village, parents of 15-year-old Gumani sat outside their asbestos-roofed house, overwhelmed with grief. Bira and Sabita Juang said two of their daughters had travelled to Tamil Nadu for work. “We are very poor, and their income was a huge support for the family. We came to know about the incident much later. Now we are waiting for one daughter’s body and are worried about the condition of the other,” Bira said.NHRC has, meanwhile, taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and has issued notices to Tamil Nadu chief secretary and director general of police, directing them to submit a detailed report on the incident within two weeks.(With inputs from Naresh Chandra Pattanayak)
