VISAKHAPATNAM: The GVMC officials said that water supply from Meghadri Gedda was blocked immediately after gas leak from LG Polymers plant on Thursday as a precautionary measure.

They appealed to the public not to believe rumours on social media.

Explaining that the city’s water was not contaminated and it is safe for consumption, the officials said that Godavari was the major source of drinking water and water from Meghadri Gedda was mostly used for industrial purposes.

Speaking to TNIE, an official of GVMC water supply management department stated that the water from Meghadri Gedda was being tested for the past three days as per the instructions of the officials concerned.

 “After the incident, there are high chances that the water may be affected. To ensure that the water is safe for consumption, water samples are being sent for tests daily from the day of the incident. The test reports are awaited and further decisions will be taken by GVMC Commissioner G Srijana and other officials concerned,” the official said.

City environmentalists claim that LG Polymers in its representation for permission had stated that Meghadri Gedda, Narava Hills and other such places will be affected in case of an accident.

“The company clearly stated that the water may be affected and consuming it would lead to a lot of health issues. However, the GVMC has done a commendable job by blocking the water supply immediately,” said environmentalist and member of Green Climate Team JV Ratnam.

An activist, Lubna Sarawat, opined that water might have been affected by high levels of toxic air pollutants. 

“Normally, water gets polluted with the air quality above its surface. In this incident too, water and living organisms in it might have been affected due to the gas leakage. We have to assess the level of contamination and take all steps to clean up polluted water,” Sarawat added.

On how they plan to restore water quality of Meghadri Gedda, the officials said, “We can only say that once we know how it is affected.”