Jorhat, Dec. 14: To the outsider, Changmaigaon is no different from the numerous villages that dot the countryside in the oil-rich belt of Sivasagar district in Upper Assam. But a silent revolution is taking place beneath the rows of neatly trimmed cash crops there. A unique formula devised by the Jorhat-based Regional Research Laboratory (RRL) is changing the face of the once-barren land ? caused by oil spillage from drilling sites of the ONGC ? and bringing hope to thousands of people in Upper Assam.
Acres of land in Upper Assam, close to drilling sites of the ONGC, lose their plant-bearing capacity as the spilled crude turn the soil acidic, rendering it unfit for cultivation.
?I am a simple farmer and don?t know much about science. But I can tell you that my plot has become green once again, thanks to the work done by the scientists,? Ghana Gogoi, whose large plot of land was affected by crude spillage, said.
Scientists from RRL had found the acidity (pH) of the soil alkaline and the quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus, which are essential for the growth of plant species, less in comparison to what is found in normal soil.
?Soil-beneficial microbes like nitrogen fixers, phosphate solubilisers, sulphur oxidisers, cellulose degraders and their activities on crude oil contaminated soil were established to be less than that of cultivated soil,? RRL spokesman P.C. Tamuly said.
The winning formula, he said, was a mix of three types of bacterial strains isolated from soil in different parts of Assam.
?There are a large number of crude-oil affected areas in the oil fields where no vegetation can take place. The vegetation protocol developed by the RRL scientists can be suitably be employed in those areas for reclaiming the soil for vegetation,? he said.
B.M. Singh, general manager (operations) of the ONGC?s Nazira office, said the new discovery by the laboratory was a boon for the oil major. ?We are using the formula at our drilling sites at Geleky on an experimental basis. It has yielded good results. The otherwise barren land is now lush green with vegetation.?
The ONGC official said the RRL formula would be used in all the drilling sites of the corporation very soon. The new formula is also expected to be the answer to green organisations which have been raising voice against the OIL and ONGC over the oil spillage which they claim was leading to environmental disaster.
ONGC sources said the company pays crores of rupees annually as compensation to organisations and individuals whose land get affected by oil spillage.
The RRL official said the ONGC had approached the laboratory regarding the problem a couple of years ago. ?The RRL scientists took the challenge and embarked on the task in the form of a project, which was completed successfully,? he said.