Baghjan Fire To be Doused in 4-5 Days: OIL

Baghjan Fire To be Doused in 4-5 Days: OIL

The leakage at Baghjan in Assam's Tinsukia district is expected to be capped and the fire which caught in one of the oil well would be doused in four-five days, a top Oil India official said.

Natural gas and oil condensate started leaking from an oil well around 50 days ago which caught fire a month ago.

The OIL official said heavy rain and flood-affected the operation and damaged many machinery and makeshift structures.

Despite that officials, engineers and workers continued to work to control the situation, the official added.

US and Canadian experts and engineers, who are associated with Singapore-based ALERT, fire-fighters, NDRF personnel and OIL and ONGC engineers continued their efforts to check gas leak and douse the well fire at Baghjan.

The locals also protested despite the hostile weather conditions demanding higher compensation.

While a section of agitators has withdrawn protest, others continue to agitate holding OIL responsible for the mishap.

Meanwhile, OIL has provided Rs 30,000 compensation to each of the affected families.

OIL officials said transportation of heavy machinery and equipment from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, Vadodara in Gujarat and other places was also delayed due to COVID-19 protocols and curbs.

On a request from Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner Bhaskar Pegu, the army built a 150-metre-long bridge over a water body to facilitate work to control gas leak and fire.

Around 10,000 people have been evacuated and sheltered in 14 relief camps as the fire damaged houses, other properties as well as standing crops. Locals said the fire had also affected a famous lake, ponds and wetlands in the area.

Various NGOs and government bodies, including Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI), are conducting studies to assess the impact of oil and gas leakage and fire on the environment.

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