GUWAHATI: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi into the blast at the Baghjan gas-producing well of Oil India Limited (OIL), urging him to institute a high-level inquiry into the incident.
An APCC delegation led by its president Ripun Bora met Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi here on Thursday and handed over a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister.
Along with the high-level probe, the APCC delegation demanded appropriate action against the officials responsible for the mishap.
It may be mentioned that the bodies of two OIL employees from fire services, Durlov Gogoi, assistant operator, and Tikheswar Gohain, assistant operator, were recovered from a wetland near the blast site on Wednesday.
“Adequate compensation must be provided to the families of the victims including jobs to the next of kin of the deceased. Besides, families who have lost land and property in the mishap too have to be adequately compensated,” Bora stated in the memorandum to the PM.
In a press statement on Wednesday, OIL confirmed that “immediate compensation has been disbursed to the families of the two employees who sacrificed their lives”.
The Congress delegation further criticised the role played by the chief minister, saying that it was “surprising that while the chief minister has been visiting several places by helicopter, he could not spare time to visit the spot.”
“It seems the chief minister has taken the matter very casually. He could have taken up the matter with the petroleum ministry and the Centre at the appropriate time to bring experts to stop the leakage of gas from the well,” Bora said.
The APCC further held OIL for “miserably failing” to control the situation during the 14-day period.
“It is pertinent to mention that while there was non-stop leakage of natural gas for 14 days, OIL has miserably failed to control it. Moreover, they have not taken the matter seriously,” he stated in the memorandum.
