It continued to leak uncontrollably for over 12 days, and on 9 June 2020, the oil well caught fire [i]. The massive inferno at the well, with thick black smoke moving up quite a few meters high, was seen from a distance of more than 30 kilometers from the site. The fire spread rapidly, and along with destroying a lot of flora and fauna, also resulted in the death of two employees of OIL – Durlov Gogoi and Tikheswar Gohain [3].

Environmental activist Niranta Gohain said that four persons in and around the Baghjan village have lost their lives since the blowout – 26-year-old Petu Kishan, 55-year-old Pravin Dutta, 36-year-old Bumoni Dutta and 48-year-old Asom Gohain [5]. At least 50 houses have also been burnt due to the leak [2]. 

According to a press release by OIL, the incident occurred at around 10:30 AM on May 27 at the producing well of Baghjan 5 under Baghjan Oil Field of OIL as it suddenly became active while work over operations was underway. According to Rajendra Singh Bharti, divisional forest officer of Tinsukia Wildlife Division “Baghjan 5 well is around 300 metres from the boundary of the buffer forest of the DSNP and merely 900 metres from the core area of the national park” [5] . The environmental activists Gohain added “The project was set up in 2003 without any environmental clearance from the authorities; 20 to 25 oil wells have been set up by the OIL in the eco-sensitive zone of the park over the years, without any environmental clearance and without organizing any public hearing. However, according to the Environmental Impact Assessment of 1994 and 2006, environmental clearance is mandatory."

 In 2013 the locals already vocally opposed the projects writing a letter to the Minister of State for Environment and Forest, Jayanthi Natarajan saying: “The local people of the region are dependent on the Maguri-Motapung beel and its surrounding areas for their livelihood, including fishing, agriculture and eco-tourism,” the letter stated [2].  A site inspection report regarding oil and gas pipelines in Upper Assam was also submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) in 2013. The matter came out in the 28th meeting of National Board for Wildlife, that had ordered a visit to the area to investigate on the matter.

 However, just 7 days before the accident an Economic Times news reported that Environmental Clearance was given by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for extending the drilling of hydrocarbons at seven other locations around the park [4]. This beside the expressed concerns by different stakeholders. The OIL had ensured that the extraction would have not created any damage to the national park, and it would have carried on with the use of the Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) technology [4]. “Through ERD technology, OIL will reach the target depth of around 3.5 Kms beneath the surface of the National Park without carrying out any drilling activity inside the national park.” We read in the report. According to OIL officials, the plan is yet to start for tapping large reserves of hydrocarbons using ERD by laying the pipelines under the Lohit riverbed, which would “not impact the environment at all.” [4,5].

The oil well (locally known as Baghjan 5) is located in close proximity to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park and Maguri-Motapung Beel (wetland), a haven for both resident and migratory bird species such as ruddy shelduck, bar-headed goose, falcated duck, ferruginous duck, northern pintail and Eurasian wigeon [3] [9]. Many animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, including an endangered river dolphin found in the wetland, have already been killed.  According to the conservationists and natives who have been involved with this national park and wetland area for years, the wetland and its surroundings are being subjected to unparalleled damage, the loss of wildlife is enormous and agrarian natives’ livelihoods are at stake because of the ongoing crisis. The environmentalists in the area suspect that the immense damage to the national park and the wetland is perhaps irreparable [6]. 

The local organizations All Assam Moran-Motok Students’ Union as the neighbouring villagers have already warned the administration authorities they will not further allow any oil extraction in their area [8,1].

As reported by Mongabay (Nabarun Guha, 10 June 2020) [6]  a few days later: On May 27, a sudden and uncontrolled release of gas occurred from an oil well near Baghjan village in Assam. The situation took a turn on June 9 when the well caught fire. With the site of the well just less than a kilometre from the Dibru Saikhowa National Park and only 500 metres from the wetland Maguri-Motapung Beel, environmentalists and locals fear widespread damage to the area’s ecology. Last month, Oil India Limited received environment clearance from the environment ministry to carry out drilling and testing of hydrocarbons in seven locations under the national park, which was met with an uproar from the locals and environmental activists. Following the blowout, the protests have gained momentum.

The blowout at an oil well near Baghjan village in Assam took a turn on June 9 with a major fire outbreak at the well. For almost two weeks, the people living in Baghjan and nearby villages have been facing the impacts of the blowout — an uncontrolled release of gas — from an oil-producing well under Baghjan oilfield, operated by the public sector unit Oil India Limited (OIL).

The impact of the fire was particularly severe on the residents of Baghjan village, located around one kilometre from the site, who were already living in a relief camp following the blowout on May 27, amid ongoing COVID-19 restrictions as well. They were displaced twice. According to one of the residents, Satyajeet Moran, “People of our village now had to evacuate the relief camp set up in the village school and go and seek shelter at Jokaimukh village, which is 12 km away from here. After the blowout, this fire has completely finished our village. Many houses were burnt along with widespread damage to property.” [6]

Some days later, The Wire reported (Gurav Das, [7]) that according to a report published by the Assamese daily Asomiya Pratidin, on June 5 five people from a village named Natun Gaon, near the gas well site, allegedly succumbed to the toxic gas-induced poison. The report said that the local public blamed the gas leak for the deaths. The report said that according to the locals, Petu Kishan died on June 1, Bumoni Dutta and Janmoni Sonowal on June 3, and Asom Gohain and Prabin Dutta on June 4. Soneswar Narah of the Jeepal Krishak Sramik Samiti, a Golaghat-based peasants’ rights body who has been raising his voice against a seismic survey conducted by OIL in some pockets in upper Assam for a few years now, told The Wire that the five from the village near Baghjan were poor. [7].

People residing in the nearby villages had to be evacuated in thousands in the time of an ongoing COVID19 pandemic, causing additional distress. According to locals, even prior to the blowout catching fire, smell of the gas from the leakage was engulfing the air [15]. People residing as far as 10 km away from the site too could feel the foul odor and were having difficulty in breathing and irritation in their eyes. Once the fire broke out, unexplained tremors are being felt in the Baghjan area over several days [7]. Following this, many villagers residing in the vicinity of the site have been forced to leave their homes [7]. Officials state that more than 7,000 people were evacuated from Baghjan and are currently being housed across 12 relief camps, the residents claim that they are in conditions too cramped for any physical distancing, and in deplorable conditions causing anxiety and distress  [12].  

Tinsukia district has one of the largest presence of tea gardens in Assam. Layers of condensates now rest on the leaves of the tea plantations situated at the vicinity of the oil well making it difficult for the tea growers to encash their produces. 

Hundreds of people from affected villages have been carrying out demonstrations seeking compensation and protection of biodiversity of the area [1]. “These are not protests held by a particular organization but spontaneous reactions of the villagers from the surrounding villages,” said Niranta Gohain, an environmental activist based in Tinsukia, who was present at the protest. “They are basically demanding relief since their immediate livelihood (fishing, farming) has been snatched away post the blowout.”, further adding that the authorities have not paid attention to villages which do not fall in the immediate vicinity of the area [8]. “Villages such as Natun Gaon, Milanpur, Hatibagh, Bebejiyaetc are located downstream [of the Dibru river] but equally affected,” he said, “No attention has been paid to them. Many have left their homes and are staying with their families in other villages.” Since the incident was reported at the Baghjan 5 well, condensate — or the residue from gas condensing after coming in contact with water — has spread up to a radius of 5km from the site, falling on tea gardens, grasslands, and crops [1]. As per locals, the continuous rainfall has made matters worse. This destruction of the wetland is not only completely destroying the biodiversity and source of livelihood for more than ninety-five percent of the local population, but also the culture and tradition, since it shapes many of the myths and rituals of the indigenous communities residing [12]. 

Angry protests also erupted when Assam´s Industry and Commerce minister downplayed the disaster, claiming, ´Countries like Russia in the past had larger fires, this is nothing.´ as well as ´In oil, this is not the only fire. Tripura had a bigger fire than this. In 2012, we had a similar fire in Dibrugarh district´s Dikam.´ [13] [14]. A PIL has also been filed at the Guwahati High Court against OIL, John Energy, the Centre and the state government over the leak [14].  

On June 5 2020, OIL issued a statement announcing Rs 30,000 to “each of the impacted families as immediate relief.” With the Tinsukia DC Bhaskar Pegu specifying that “This is for those who were in the immediate vicinity of the incident and have been directly affected,” referring to the larger Baghjan village area, where the gas well is located [1]. This was decided at a tripartite meeting held earlier in the day by the administration with the representatives of Baghjan Gaon Milan Jyoti Yuva Sangha and OIL team led by Biswajit Roy, Director (HR&BD). 

Niranta Gohain also said that the oil well was set up in 2003 without any environmental clearance or public hearing [9]. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in India had given further environmental clearance for drilling at seven locations under the Dibru Saikhowa National Park, using a technology called the extended reach pipeline (ERD), amidst the Covid-19 pandemic [10]. He mentioned that the Dibru Saikhowa National Park is about to become the first national park in India to extract oil from under a protected area, which would be catastrophic for the biodiversity of the region [9]. Spread over 340 square kilometers, the national park is home to 36 mammal species including tiger and dolphin, and 382 bird species [11]. 

A similar blowout had happened in 2005 at Dikom in Assam’s Dibrugarh district and it took about 45 days to control the situation [4]. In the case of Baghjan, the situation is grim too. Former director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), P K Borthakur, commented on 12 June 2020 that it would take at least another 20-25 days to control the condition [4].

The permission for these project was given with restrictions, and an inspection committee was formed to investigate on the project risk and site. The committee found that some pipelines were already operational without environmental clearances and no permission, defining the illegality of the project operations evading environmental norms.

The workover operations were going on to produce gas from new sand [oil and gas-bearing reservoir] at a depth of 3,729 metres. Earlier, the well was producing around 1 lakh (100,000) standard cubic metres per day of gas from a depth of 3,870 metres,” the release states.