A major disaster was averted at the port town of Paradip in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district on Thursday after the Indian Oil’s Paradip-Haldia pipeline burst near the refinery there. It took the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) more than four hours to repair the damaged pipeline. No loss of life or injury was reported.
“We were informed about the oil leakage around noon, following which our officials immediately rushed to the spot. Things were brought under control by 4.30pm. Fire brigade personnel mopped up the oil spill by spraying foam mixed with water to prevent a possible fire tragedy, while security forces cordoned off the area,” Alok Sahoo, chief general manager of the pipeline division of IOCL in Paradip, said.
However, large quantities of oil spilled over to the nearby farmland and water bodies because of the ruptured pipeline. “We collected the spilled crude oil in tankers using pipes to prevent a fire outbreak,” Sahoo said, adding that the loss of oil because of the leakage is being assessed.
The incident has renewed concerns about such oil spills and their impact on the environment.
It may be recalled that two years ago some miscreants had damaged the IOCL pipelines to pilfer oil leading to a spillage in the neighbouring creeks, the Kakodia river and other water bodies.
Green activist Sudhanshu Parida said, “The IOCL must take the necessary steps to prevent such oil spills under its contingency plan. It must also enhance security and patrolling near the pipeline to prevent anybody from damaging the pipeline with an intention to pilfer oil.”
Most oil pipelines are built near agricultural land and water bodies where any such spillage damages water, land and crops. “Toxic substances contained in the oil tend to accumulate in plants and animals, which consequently threaten the health of humans who consume the polluted plants,” Parida, who is also the secretary of the district unit of People for Animals, said.
The Paradip-Haldia crude oil pipeline was commissioned in 2009 at an expenditure of Rs 1,420 crore. The project is designed to transport 11 million tonnes of crude oil every year from Paradip to the IOCL refineries in Haldia and Barauni. It includes the laying of a 330-km long pipeline to link Paradip with Haldia and the Barauni refineries, the installation of a single-point mooring system in the offshore waters of Paradip and a crude oil tank farm.
