Tension prevailed at Akkireddygudem in Eluru district on Monday as villagers staged a dharna demanding that the Porus Laboratories Private Limited, where six workers died and 12 others suffered burns in a fire mishap on April 13, be permanently shut down.
The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has already ordered a temporary closure of the chemical factory following the mishap.
When Joint Collector P. Arun Babu, Assistant Collector T. Rahul Kumar Reddy and other officers visited the drug manufacturing unit on Monday to conduct an inquiry following the orders of District Collector V. Prasanna Venkatesh, hundreds of villagers thronged the factory and raised slogans demanding its permanent closure.
