Nazira: Farmers in Nazira’s Mesagarh Barpathar are having troubled times. A crude oil pipeline below their farmlands had burst and oil is leaking out in the fields. This has resulted in crop damage as hundreds of acres of farmland might get wasted if the oil leakage is not stopped. Also, the environment around the area is also going to get affected due to the oil leakage.
Local residents of Mesagarh Barpathar doubt that the pipe burst is related with crude oil theft and is the handiwork of crude oil smugglers. They have also blamed the ONGC for negligence as the company does not try its best to stop oil theft.
“The leakage started from yesterday. As soon as it rained, the oil started spilling everywhere around the fields. The water got contaminated and it has already flowed to other areas and to the Dimow river. The oil is gushing out in large quantity and it is even difficult to walk here,” said a local resident of Nazira.
“There are many pipelines going under Meshagarh of companies like ONGC, OIL, GAIL and people have to bear the consequences and suffer whenever such incidents occur. This is farming season and we have already struggled a lot to get the fields ready and now this leakage is going to waste it all. We farmers are the worst sufferers. The concerned company should come here and take immediate steps to stop this leakage. We also request them to pay for the damages due to this crude oil leakage,” added the resident.
“If we look at the spot it seems someone had tried to take out oil from here. So we request the authorities to immediately take action and get hold of these culprits,” said a farmer of Mesagarh.
