Akhil Gogoi, locals demand arrest of SK Petro Services owner for deploying unskilled workers
The MLA also urged the Chief Minister to bring in international experts before it is too late;

Sivasagar, June 20: Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, along with several other organisations, has demanded the immediate arrest of Krishna Agarwal and called for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to ban his company, SK Petro Services, for allegedly deploying unskilled workers in the Sivasagar ONGC well, which has been experiencing a massive gas leak since June 12.
The gas leak in Sivasagar district’s Rudrasagar oil field has affected over a thousand people.
Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi on Friday said that the ONGC has failed to contain the gas flow and urged the Chief Minister to take up the matter with the central government. He also called for the involvement of international experts before the situation worsens.
Meanwhile, addressing the press in Sivasagar on Friday, the Joutha Sangrami Mancha (JSM) – a collective of indigenous youth organisations– threatened a sustained democratic agitation against SK Petro Services and ONGC for their failure to control gas flow even after eight days.
Several local groups appealed to the Chief Minister to take over the work-over rigs of the ONGC under a Private–Public Partnership (PPP) scheme which they believe would generate employment for local youth and reduce corruption.
Various local organisations also flagged SK Petro Services for its alleged worker exploitation and demanded that ONGC absorb its 1,500 workers.
The Jatiya Sangrami Sena Asom president, Chitu Baruah, further alleged that SK Petro failed to provide adequate compensation to one employee who died in an accident.
Earlier, on Thursday, former oilfield worker Rituraj Buragohain alleged that Purbanchal ONGC Employees Union president Sanjeev Baruah, along with All Assam Oil Field Workers Union president Arifuddin Ahmed and secretary Krishna Kamal Kakoty were colluding with SK Petro Services, thereby worsening the situation in the Assam Asset.
Baruah, meanwhile, refuted the allegations, claiming they were baseless and asserting that the union has no role in appointments in private rigs.