Panic Grips Digboi as AOD Reservoir Releases Water, Crude Oil Seepage Reported

DIGBOI: Sensation gripped the people of Digboi oil town in Tinsukia district on Friday following the unwarranted discharge of water from an extensive AOD water reservoir located at Shillong Road close to century-old Digboi refinery. The accumulated water in the reservoir gushed out following a landslide causing an outlet beside a mammoth concrete wall of the dam.

Acting swiftly, a team of Margherita civil administration accompanied by top  officials of the Indian Oil Digboi rushed to the site. Parikshit Thoudam, SDO Civil, Margherita addressing the media present on site alerted the people of Digboi beside explaining in a nutshell the nature of incident.

“As briefed by the AOD officials and technical experts, the incessant rains has over flooded the reservoir providing a narrow passage for the stored water to gush out. I have visited the site and there is nothing to panic about,” the administrator said adding, however it is very pertinent that people residing in vicinity should remain vigilant and alert.

“Adequate security personnel, members of Digboi Municipal Board and NDRF team have been pressed while preventive measures have been adopted on a war footing to avert any incidence of greater magnitude,” Thoudam said.

Innam-Udin, a ward member of Station para, an area very close to the dam alleged that a similar incident occurred earlier in 90’s causing a severe damage to human habitation and properties due to the poor maintenance and negligence of the AOD authority. Referring to the present context, he told that the reservoir built by the British lacks proper maintenance.

Earlier on June 28, a similar hazardous incident was averted after cylinder containing agent gas (Argon, Nitrogen and Carbon dioxide) installed in a gas bank in the refinery exploded at the wee hours.

Similarly, in one of the ugliest incident occurred on Tuesday, several human habitations including RS area in Ward no 1 turned to be the container of refinery off-shore crude oil following its seepage which over flowed the drain connecting refinery passing through residential areas

The crude oil along with the storm water gushed into several houses along the drains, damaging the territorial human property beside impacting the marine communities and its ecosystem. Domesticated animals like goats and poultry died while agricultural land too was worst affected due to spilled oil which prevented water absorptions by the soil.

 Meanwhile , a team of AOD officials on Wednesday had to confront the wrath of the affected residents during their visit to the site. Basant Pradhan one of the worst-affected residents of RS area said that AOD Management has failed for decades to address the issue  involving the refinery seepages being drained through residential areas causing untold miseries to the people.

“The people of the corporation were collecting the spilled crude oil till this morning ironically without showing any concern towards the affected residents,” Pradhan said adding, “The unbearable gas and human contact with the spilled fossil oil have affected us.”’

However, the obsolete technologies coupled with feeble safety services and poor maintenance of plants and hazardous units in the century old Digboi refinery might have led to a series of adverse incidents in Digboi.

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