Dibrugarh, July 7: Residents of eight villages under Assam?s oil-rich Dibrugarh district have announced an indefinite ?oil blockade? from Friday, accusing Oil India Ltd (OIL) of not taking steps to stop crude spillage from its drilling sites to their croplands. Over 5,000 villagers from Chabua revenue circle of the district will be involved in the agitation. These villagers say the oil spills not only damage their standing crops and reduce the potency of the soil, but also pose a danger to livestock and poultry.
There are two drilling sites in the vicinity of the village that has been affected the most. A pipeline runs along the hamlet, Rajabari Pullong Gaon.
OIL officials declined to say how much crude was being pumped out from the two oilwells, but villagers said over 20 tankers of crude were being taken out everyday.
Rajib Gohain, who owns about 15 bighas of agricultural land in Rajabari village, accused the oil major of ignoring requests to ensure that crude does not spill out of the storage tank. He said the monsoon was the most dangerous period.
?Whenever we complain of the problem, they pass the buck from one section to another. We are simple villagers and are only concerned about our own problems. We cannot go on running from pillar to post for a solution to the problem,? Rajib said.
Indrajit Gohain, another resident of the area, said OIL officials were trying to stop the affected people from airing their grievances. ?They have warned of police action if we take recourse to an agitation,? the farmer, who owns about seven bighas of land, said.
OIL officials denied trying to browbeat the villagers. ?Whenever there is a crisis of such type, we always try to solve it amicably. This problem, about which the villagers have complained to us, will be looked into,? a senior company official said over phone from Duliajan.
The assurance, however, failed to calm the villagers, who said they would go ahead with the agitation. ?We will not backtrack on the basis of mere statements by the company. We want to see proper measures to prevent oil from spilling onto our fields,? one of them said.
Dead fish and frogs litter the fields in the affected zone. Residents point to the film of oil over water as another sign of spillage. ?Several heads of cattle have died on drinking polluted water,? a villager said.
Residents of another area in Dibrugarh district had previously complained about the oil major?s geo-seismic survey, saying the equipment used in the exercise caused strong vibrations and led to cracks on the walls of their houses.
The new crisis comes within a week of OIL being upgraded to a Schedule A company, making it the first Northeast-based corporate organisation to be accorded this status. It means the company will have more autonomy.
During the last fiscal, OIL recorded the highest-ever output and sale of natural gas in its history.
It is expected to record its highest crude production and sale during the current year.