
The massive gas leakage and explosion at an ONGC rig at Bhatiapar-Bari Chuk in Sivasagar district has once again brought to the focus the grave hazard to public safety and the natural environment from such disasters. The continuous emission which has not been brought under control even after over three days of its occurrence has triggered widespread outrage among local residents and environmental groups, raising questions over the rig’s maintenance and the inadequate response mechanism on the part of the public sector oil major.
While a thorough probe is needed to get to the roots of the development and fix responsibility, the immediate task at hand for the authorities is to rope in the best of expertise to check the emission besides evacuating people and livestock out of the expanding danger zone.
Incidents of this kind have a history of occurrence in Assam, with the worst being the Baghjan oil well blast in 2020. Locals and civil society organizations have come down hard on the ONGC, alleging negligence and accusing the company of failing to adopt advanced safety technologies and maintain proper operational protocol.
That no fire brigade vehicles or experienced technical personnel were present at the rig site at the time of the explosion lays credence to such allegations. While many families have been shifted to relief camps, there have been allegations of those being poorly maintained, adding to the inmates’ sufferings. The district administration, too, needs to be pro-active in such crisis situations and ensure that the affected people get a fair deal.
Immediate adverse fallouts apart, such disasters are always fraught with grave and long-term implications on the environment including forests and water bodies and agriculture besides human health.
We only need to see the devastations caused by the Baghjan blast which had devastated the ecosystem of the area besides hugely impacting the Maguri Motapung wetland and a part of Dibru Saikhowa National Park. Apparently, these incidents also point to lapses on the part of those maintaining these vital installations – as corroborated by the Baghjan case. The level of seriousness, alertness and professionalism that is expected of such organizations was apparently not there, and the dreadful consequences are for all to see. The developments also expose the absence of a quick disaster response and mitigation mechanism.
A thorough inquiry is needed to clear up matters vis-a-vis the latest incident but the immediate need is to stop the emission and provide succour to the affected families, and restore the water-bodies and cropland. As oil majors often outsource maintenance of their oilfields to private firms, their credentials and performance must be put to stringent scrutiny. A rethink on the safety measures in particular merits urgent attention by both oil PSUs and the government.