Baghjan relief camp inmates set up camp in front of DC's office, Tinsukia

TINSUKIA: For the third consecutive day, the Baghjan blowout victims continued their protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office, Tinsukia under the leadership of Baghjan Milanjyoti Yuba Sangha.

With confrontation in the offing, although the administration permitted to construct a temporary shed, the Sangha activists have been attempting to extend the shed, to which the administration objected and dismantled the structure.

The inmates of Baghjan relief camps numbering around 150, including women, have established temporary relief camps in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office, Tinsukia since Monday. Though initially it was thought the protesters would sit for the day and depart, they surprisingly made a pre-determined move to shift the camp from Baghjan to the DC's office after their grievances, particularly in respect of compensation, were not addressed by any quarters like Oil India Limited (OIL) and Tinsukia district administration even after 90 days of the blowout. Deputy Commissioner Bhaskar Pegu on Sunday night persuaded them to shift to a comfortable accommodation; they vowed not to leave the place till compensation issues were resolved.

The activists of Baghjan Milanjyoti Yuba Sangha said that life at Baghjan had become unbearable as many people developed respiratory problems due to depletion of oxygen, besides other health-related issues, while the pregnant women started showing signs of complexities, they claimed.

As the district administration levied restriction on construction of temporary toilets and resting place outside the office premises, the Sangha activists have been using the Moran Students' Union office premises for cooking and toilet services.

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