Who brought it upon us, asks Nagaram

Rajahmundry: The villagers of Nagaram in Mamidikuduru mandal in the East Godavari district, which was devastated by the GAIL gas pipeline explosion that ripped through the village on the early morning of June 27, are still reeling under the aftermath of a devastating tragedy that left 18 people dead and scores seriously burnt and damaged property and environment in an extent of 500 metres.

The survivors of the wild flames which erupted across the village are numbed by the pain that they are struggling to endure and come to terms with.
Their lives changed entirely, and for worse for the entire village. Compensation, totaling Rs 25 lakh for each death, is being extended by the Central and the State governments and, of course, by the GAIL. A job for each family and construction of new houses are also promised by the governments.

However, it does not provide them any solace, even a wee bit. They are aghast as to how to carry on with their torn lives. Each of the survivors and kin of the victims has a heart-rending tale to recount.

As The Hans India visited the village and spoke to the people, grieving in silence, their pain soon gives way to anger and earnest call for stringent punishment for those callous officials who were instrumental in wreaking their lives.

That a similar incident happened a year ago and was taken lightly by the officials concerned was heard from several of them, again and again.
“Timely precaution could have saved precious lives,” is their anguished refrain.

GAIL Director (Projects), New Delhi, Ashuthotosh Karnatak, gives a different version – A logbook is always kept with the people of villages along the pipelines, for making complaints. There had never been any complaint by the Nagaram villagers, he maintains.

However, questions remain as to how illiterate villagers can bring it to notice of the officials. Moreover, the name plates were never legible, they complain.
“If there is a chance of mishap, how could the officials, either of GAIL or of the State government, could allow habitations to come up so near to the pipelines?” ask the villagers.

But, a blessing in disguise was that there were cloudy conditions at the time of the gas explosion and winds were stable. Otherwise, it would have wrought a more severe mishap. The mini-refinery in Tatipaka and the Gas Collection Station (GCS) owned by the ONGC are a just whisker away from the blast site. If the wind blew in the direction of the ONGC installation, the damage, particularly human loss, could have been unimaginable.

Pressure metres at GAIL terminal failed to detect leakage gas at Nagaram, which had been taking place for hours before the incident. Another pertinent question is over formation of clouds of gas which hung in the air across the village.

All that Ashutosh Karnatak offers to explain is that the gas supplied by their suppliers including Ravva Field, ONGC and Cairn Energy might have contained condensate of elements like CO2, water and sulphur.

These elements might have caused a deadly corrosive composition, resulting in leakage of pipelines and the consequent explosion. and deadly corrosion act might have taken place, which might have cause the devastation. Several questions remain unanswered yet and one has to wait for the report of a high-level committee set up to probe the incident.