The well caught fire on June 9 after an uncontrollable gas leak from May 27 (File)
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the situation following the explosion of the oil well in the Tinsukia district of Assam on Thursday and lobbied for capacity building for organizations to prevent such incidents in the future.
During the review meeting, he was informed that a detailed plan had been developed with the assistance of Indian and foreign experts to control and cap the gas flow from Oil India Limited’s Baghjan-5 well. .
The plan is on schedule and it has been proposed that the well be plugged on July 7 after taking all the necessary safety precautions, a statement said.
During the review, the Prime Minister ordered the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to document these incidents so that their lessons can be useful in the future.
“Additional capacity and expertise should be developed within our own organizations to avoid such incidents in the future and to cope with such calamities in the event that they do occur,” said the statement, citing PM Modi.
Uncontrolled gas had started to leak from the well on May 27 and while preparations were underway to control the leak, the well caught fire on June 9.
People living in areas surrounding the well have been displaced and relief camps have been set up by the state government in collaboration with Oil India Ltd.
About 9,000 people live in these relief camps. As an immediate relief measure, 30,000 rupees each was punished for 1,610 families identified by the district administration, the statement said.
Prime Minister Modi assured the people of Assam, through Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, that the central government is fully committed to providing support, relief and rehabilitation to the affected families.
The review meeting brought together, among others, Interior Minister Amit Shah, Minister of Oil and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, Chief Minister of Assam and a few other Union ministers.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
