Assam: ONGC’s crude oil pipeline leaks at Nazira, several acres of paddy cultivation affected

Tinsukia: Several bighas of paddy cultivation were affected due to a leak in a crude oil pipeline of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at Nazira in Assam‘s Sivasagar district on Friday.

Confirming the development, Nazira sub-divisional officer Sabyasachi Kashyap said that an oil pipeline has leaked near Borpathar between Mesagarh and Molagaon under Nazira police station affecting several bighas of paddy cultivation. “As a result, the crude oil has spilled to nearby agricultural fields damaging around 20 bighas of paddy cultivation,” he added.

The leakage was spotted by farmers on Thursday and was brought to the notice of the administration on Friday. “The oil spill, that was limited to a couple of bighas till yesterday, has expanded to new areas today,” Kashyap said, adding, “The matter has been taken up with ONGC authorities who have rushed its team to the spot.”

According to Kashyap, the oil spill is likely to have an adverse impact on the flora and fauna of the region, besides damaging the soil and cultivation.

Sources said that ONGC authorities are assessing the situation and trying to find out the location of the oil leak to plug it. “Huge quanity of crude oil has already spilled into paddy fields and have a risk of catching fire,” added sources.

The ONGC is yet to respond to a query related to the incident sent by this EastMojo correspondent till the filing of this report.

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On May last year, Assam witnessed its worst oil tragedy after a massive gas blowout was reported at Baghjan oil field belonging to Oil India Limited in Tinsukia district, leaving a huge impact on the biodiversity besides the local population of the region.

Thirteen days later, the well caught fire and it took over 100 days for a team of foreign experts, aided by ONGC and OIL crisis management team, to douse the fire.