More than 7,000 people from areas near the gas well have been transferred to relief camps.
Tinsukia:
Union oil and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Sunday that those affected by the Baghjan gas well tragedy in India will be “adequately” compensated.
Pradhan arrived in Assam on Saturday to take stock of the situation that arose after an eruption and a subsequent hell that killed two people.
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who accompanied Pradhan to the disaster site and to relief camps, said that a model and veterinary hospital, high school and development center skills will be created in Baghjan.
“Today, I am announcing that the Baghajan embankment will be built at a price of Rs 27 crore,” he said.
“We will compensate all affected people. Tea gardens, betel nut trees, fish, houses and any other property that has been damaged will be compensated in consultation with the Assam government,” Pradhan told people. living in a relief camp.
After visiting the well site, the Union Minister said that the Center and the state government are trying to find a permanent solution to the disaster so that it never happens again.
“Oil India is an Assamese company. It has worked here for many decades. The Center and the State have set up high-level investigation committees. We will punish the culprit of this disaster even if he is a powerful man”, said Mr. Pradhan. asserted.
The company and the Tinsukia district administration have displaced more than 7,000 people from areas near the gas well site to 14 relief camps.
Sonowal said all those affected will be compensated after a thorough investigation by the administration.
The Chief Minister announced the construction of a concrete road between Baghjan and the city of Tinsukia. A self-help group of local women will receive financial assistance.
“The Maguri-Motapung wetland is the property of Baghjan. Oil India will clean up the wetland,” he said.
Sonowal said experts were doing their best to put out the fire as soon as possible to rehabilitate the displaced.
Interacting with the two leaders, the residents submitted a memorandum with a multitude of requests for rehabilitation and compensation.
After reaching Guwahati on Saturday evening, Mr. Pradhan held a review meeting with Sonowal in the presence of Minister of Finance Himanta Biswa Sarma, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Naba Kumar Doley and member of BJP Lok Sabha Topon Kumar Gogoi.
Baghjan’s number 5 well has been spewing gas out of control for 19 days and it caught fire Tuesday afternoon.
The fire in the well is so massive that it can be seen at a distance of more than 30 km with thick black smoke rising over several meters, endangering local biodiversity.
Although there is no fire on the outskirts of the well site at present, the company has declared an area up to 1.5 km in radius as a “red zone” to avoid incidents annoying.
Currently, five investigations are under way to find out – a three-member investigation by the Department of Oil and Natural Gas, a one-member investigation ordered by the Chief Minister and an internal five-member investigation by OIL.
In addition, two other crucial independent investigations of a technical nature are being carried out by the Directorate General for Mine Safety (DGMS) and the Directorate for Petroleum Industry Safety (OISD).
The Chief Minister also ordered the additional senior forest conservator (wildlife) to conduct a study on the impact of the explosion on the environment and ecology of the surrounding areas, including on the flora and fauna in the adjacent Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
Two OIL officials have already been suspended for alleged negligence in their duties at the gas well site, while a justification notice has been sent to John Energy Pvt Ltd, the private outsourced operator of the well.
There has also been a case against Oil India and John Energy regarding the incident.
