Assam: OIL says no-casualty in Baghjan blast, forgets to mention wildlife impact

After the initial blowout on 27th May, the BGR 5 oil well of Baghjan area of Tinsukia, Assam has been engulfed in a massive fire after a blast on Tuesday. A dense cloud of smoke was seen erupting blowing out of Oil India BGR 5 well was seen.

This comes amid the backdrop of a team of experts from Singapore to Assam, who reached the site on Monday and was supposed to working on it. As per sources, pungent smell has been found up to 30 km radius.

The gravity of the problem is beyond the fire blast as many families have been affected. As per reports, local people are fleeing the areas and many are also getting rehabilitated especially since the previous day.

Along with that animals including endangered dolphins died previously as reported around the park due to the gas leaked from the BGR 5 well. Now, the situation is even worrying as the well is near the Dibru Saikhowa National Park Assam, which is designated as a biosphere reserve. As such, it consists of pristine flora and fauna who stand to be the most affected in the ensuing scenario.

This has created a national uproar regarding the seriousness of the situation with many alleging severe lapses on account of the OIL side: from outsourcing 3rd party companies to manage the well, failure of containment measures and the lack of total management failure.

Also read: Assam: Austerity measures fail as massive fire breaks out in Baghjan OIL well

However, another issue that has come to the forefront is the lack of mentioning the PSU has done regarding the blowout to wildlife. The enterprise has uploaded a press release to take stock of the measures regarding Tuesday's blast and in that, they have not yet mentioned anything about the wildlife affected. With only one line stating: Environment Impact Assessment is in progress: A team from Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat reached Duliajan for an impact assessment on vegetation. So, going by the OIL's way, it would be difficult to understand the actual environment cost this colossal loss has generated.

This has upset concerned netizens of who have duly criticised the OIL's statement as showing 'apathy' towards the sensitive ecology. Taking to twitter they countered OIL's response.