Borewells in a village in Panna, Madhya Pradesh, are spewing gas and fire
District authorities rushed to Jhumta village in Panna district, where fire leapt out of a borewell that had been drilled to a depth of 580 feet. This was the first of many borewell fires in the village. Many of them continue to burn even after 20 days. The village awaits an expert team from ONGC to arrive to throw some light on the matter
Panna, Madhya Pradesh
When work began to drill a borewell at a government higher secondary school at Jhumta village, on October 18, the results were startling. While the boring was going on, there was an emission of some kind of gas from the ground that soon erupted into flames and engulfed the boring machine.
Soon, there were reports of similar incidents from 14 other borewells in the area. Many villagers complained of headaches and irritation in their throats.
On being apprised of the incidents in Panna, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Dehradun announced it would send a team of experts to ascertain the cause of this unusual phenomena.
“The ONGC team has reached Bhopal and will be coming here by Wednesday,” OP Asthana, the chief executive officer of Gunour tehsil where Jhumta is, told Gaon Connection. Meanwhile, Section 144, which prohibits the gathering of five or more persons, was imposed in the village to prevent a gathering of people in the potentially hazardous sites.
“The borewell at the school had been dug to about 580 feet deep, and yet, there was no sign of water in it,” Shiv Naresh Tripathi, inhabitant of Jhumta village, told Gaon Connection. “There are no other bores in the village that are so deep,” the 48-year-old said.
According to Tripathi, as the digging for the well began, there was first red mud, followed by what appeared to be white limestone like soil followed by coal. “When the drill reached 580 feet, flames shot up. People standing around there tried to put out the fire with sand and water, but the flames would just not get extinguished,” he described the incident.
The local administration was informed and the National Mineral Development Corporation and the fire brigade from Satna was called to the site, and finally the fire was put out, the villager said.
14 out of 50 borewells in Jhumta affected
Jhumta village lies in Gunour tehsil, Panna district, renowned for its diamond mines, about 45 kilometres away from the district headquarters. Jhumta has no more than 2,500 inhabitants and is surrounded by stone quarries, and like many other areas in the vicinity, the groundwater here is scarce.
According to the local inhabitants, there are more than 50 borewells in the village and out of these nearly 14 have reported emission of gas and flames.
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The experts from ONGC are expected to arrive some time soon and will conduct an investigation to see if there is the possibility of oil and gas in the area. The local administration in the meanwhile has fitted a huge chimney over the borewells that are spewing the flames as a protective measure. Flames are still visible emanating from the chimney.
The incidents of the fire and gas coming out of so many borewells at Jhumta prompted Sanjay Mishra, collector Panna, to visit the site on November 6, along with Dharmraj Mina the police chief, and other officials, where he held a meeting with the local inhabitants. The authorities advised the inhabitants to be cautious and keep a safe distance from the borewells and not go near it with anything inflammable.
The district authorities, along with the health department, are also organising camps in the area to check the people for any adverse reactions from the incidents of fire from the borewells.
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Foul smell and physical discomfort
“There is a foul smell that emanates from the gas coming out of the borewells,” Shiv Narayan Tripathi, also from Jhumta village, told Gaon Connection. The borewell in his home is also leaking gas, and there were flames too, he said. “We somehow managed to put out the flames with wet sacks,” he added.
He said many of the inhabitants who lived close to the affected borewells complained of headaches, throat irritation and even chest pain. “But all of them felt better when they distanced themselves from the area,” the villager added.
The higher secondary school at Jhumta, where the first fire was detected at the borewell, remains closed and the fire continues to burn there.
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“We have directed the children to move to other nearby schools. They will go to the secondary school at Pali village, about a kilometre away from Jhumta,” Kamal Singh Kushwaha, district education officer, informed Gaon Connection.
Meanwhile, Satyanarayan Darro, sub divisional magistrate, Gunour tehsil issued restrictive orders while imposing Section 144 in Jhumta village. The orders include compulsorily covering of the face with a mask in the vicinity of the affected borewells, prohibiting any mining activity within a 10 kms radius from the site, and putting up warning signs and barricading the areas where the gas-emitting borewells are located.
The orders have also instructed pregnant women, children and older people not to venture near the affected.borewells. In addition, no crowding of the areas around the borewells and holding functions of any kind there are prohibited. There were also strict instructions not to spread rumours regarding the incidents on social media. Ten of the borewells have been sealed and handpumps in the village that were lying in disrepair and unused, are being set right, said the local authorities.
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