At least 400 workers of the Digulturrung tea estate in Doom Dooma town of Assam’s Tinsukia district have not returned to work since a massive fire broke out at Well 5 in Baghjan oil field. Nearly 1,400 workers were engaged in plucking and maintenance activities when the well caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, forcing people to flee and take refuge in schools and safer areas nearby. Two firefighters of Oil India Limited (OIL) lost their lives battling the raging inferno that has caused extensive damage to the peripheral villages, affecting thousands of people and the environment, marine life and wildlife near the installation.
"We are going through a major crisis and suffering heavy collateral damage. The Digulturrung tea garden is 1.5 km away from the OIL installation. When the explosion took place at about 1.00 pm on June 9, our workers fled from the area leaving their belongings behind. For three days, they took shelter in a school located 5 km from the garden. They have returned today, but only to claim their personal belongings and property. About 400 workers are still absent. It is hard to imagine the psychological impact of this disaster on our workers and the locals of Baghjan," said Vijay Singh, CEO Assam Company India Limited (ACIL).
Singh further added that the company has been suffering a production loss for four days, and the uncontrolled blowout in the natural gas wellhead site since past 16 days has also affected the tea quality.
"The layers of oil in the waterbody nearby has not only affected marine life, but the same water has also seeped underground, affecting our plantation. This morning, at about 11.30 am, the flames rose high, but had reduced considerably yesterday," he said.
The Digulturrung tea estate is famous for its Oakland mark tea infused with Raspberry Jam flavour. The company recently sold a kilo of Oakland for Rs 362 at the Kolkata tea auction.
"We had already suffered during the lockdown, and this is the second shock. The record price we fetched for Oakland tea was from production during the pre-accident period. Now, with workers remaining absent due to this incident, our yield will be affected, and it will be a long-term damage. We had already evacuated 50 workers from the periphery of the garden when the blowout was reported,” said Saurabh Shankar, Tea Agent for ACIL.
Meanwhile, the fire continues to burn, and the effect of vibrations at the surface has added to the fears of people in Baghjan that they are still at risk. Some of the villagers at the relief camps are worried about the impact of the vibration on their homes, the ones that somehow survived the fire.
"The vibration is constant, and sometimes it is so strong that we fear everything would crumble down. The walls have developed cracks, and my house is just a kilometre away from the gas well site," said 22-year-old Chiranjit Moran, whose family is taking shelter at a relief camp.
Over 2,500 people from 1,610 families have been accommodated in 12 relief camps run by OIL with the help of district administration. A one-time compensation of Rs 30,000 has also been provided to each family as immediate relief.
"We have lost seven cows, and I don’t know if they could escape the fire. We cut the ropes and had set them free when flames engulfed our village. We have also lost the betelnut trees, the flowers have wilted, the crops have been damaged because of the gas and condensate," said Moran, stating that he would frequently visit his house to check on the contents left behind, and return to have food at the relief camp.
Moran understands it would take a long time to bring the situation under control, but he is also worried about the social distancing requirements at the relief camps and adhering to guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
"Many of us cannot afford to maintain social distancing at the camp. We lie next to each other, and some of them do not wear a mask. They are also distributing masks here. By God’s grace, we do not have any Covid-19 case yet, but if we fail to address this issue, it might lead to another major problem," Moran said.
The OIL on Friday said that preparations for capping the well is underway and a roadmap is being prepared. The fire has been restricted to the well and authorities are now trying to stop the uncontrolled discharge of gas and condensate from the wellhead that would also lead to extinguishing the flames.
"The periphery fire resulting from the gas and condensate spread over 500-600 metres was fully controlled Wednesday morning. The fire now is raging from the wellhead, and it can be controlled only when we are able to control the well - the final operation of capping the well would take about four weeks. Along with experts from ONGC, three more experts from the US and Canada would join their counterparts from the Singapore-based firm Alert Disaster Control. The Army and police are helping us by manning the Red Zone, and the locals are also cooperating now," said Tridib Hazarika, OIL spokesperson.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered a probe into the incident, and state's additional chief secretary Maninder Singh has been tasked with investigating the incident and submitting a report within 15 days from June 11. He will be assisted by additional principal conservator of forest (Wildlife) MK Yadava. The chief minister held a review meeting today to assess the damage caused by the cataclysmic events and directed the Tinsukia district administration to prepare a report while providing all essential facilities to people at the relief camps.
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