Committed to people’s safety: Pradhan on Assam gas well fire

New Delhi, June 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) As a massive fire broke out in a leaking gas well in Assam on Tuesday, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that the Centre and Oil India Ltd (OIL) are committed to the safety and well-being of people of the state.

Taking to Twitter, the minister said that he spoke to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and has assured him of the centre's commitment.

"@dpradhanbjp assured CM Assam @sarbanandsonwal that MoPNG and @OilIndiaLimited are committed for the safety and well-being of people of Assam," he said in a tweet.

The gas leak in Assam's Tinsukia district started on May 27 at a well site of Oil India Ltd, post which efforts have been made to plug the leakage which did not result in much success.

In another tweet, Pradhan also said that a team of Oil India Ltd led by its CMD have been at the site from day one of the leakage to control the situation. Further, crisis management team of ONGC is also on the ground to further emergency response, he said.

Experts from a Singapore-based firm ALERT also arrived on the spot and are trying to plug the leakage.

The state government, on the other hand, has sought the Indian Air Force's help to douse the blaze. Chief Minister Sonowal talked to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeking help from the IAF, officials said.

An Oil India statement said that the well caught fire even while the clearing operations were on at the site.

The oil well at Baghjan in Tinsukia, around 550 km east of Guwahati, has been leaking gas for the past 14 days, causing enormous damage to the region's wildlife, wetlands and biodiversity.

Source: IANS