GUWAHATI: Apparently learning from the forgettable experience of devastating Bighjan gas well on June 9 last, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday flagged before the Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the need for the state to have local well-groomed experts capable of tackling such fire and blowout incidents in gas well in state oil fields in future.
The gas well at Baghjan oil field of Oil India Limited (OIL) had suffered a blowout on May 27 last and had been flowing out natural gas uncontrolled since then and finally caught fire on June 9 even as OIL was awaiting experts from Singapore to start work to cap the gas well.
Sonowal urged the Prime Minister to upgrade the Petroleum Technology Department of Dibrugarh University so that it can train and groom experts locally who could tackle successfully mishaps like Baghjan fire that may occur in gas/oil wells in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the Assam CM through a video-conference to review the progress of capping of Baghjan gas well on fire as well as relief operations to provide succour to the affected families.
Sonowal while apprising the Prime Minister about the latest situation at Baghjan, said that people in the nearby areas are still in panic as the gas well could not be capped till now.
He said that tremors are being felt into areas of three kilometre radius from the Baghjan gas well site which also caused damage to houses creating further fear among people. He also informed that experts from NEIST and IIT Guwahati have been entrusted to study this phenomenon.
Prime Minister said that the Union Government would take all necessary steps for compensation, relief and rehabilitation of the affected families.
He also assured that the Central Government would take all precautionary measures to minimize the possibility of any such incident in future.