The Tinsukia district administration has assured the affected villagers of Baghjan of releasing the compensation in the first week of December.
Experts managed to kill the oil well in Baghjan successfully on November 15 with the help of brine solution.
They doused the fire in the well completely after 172 days of the well’s blowout that has left a trail of destruction in Baghjan and its adjoining areas.
“The Baghjan fire has been doused, but till date we have not received the compensation. We have been facing innumerable problems for the past six months after the fire damaged our house,” said an affected villager on account of anonymity.
“We hope that Tinsukia district administration will release the compensation as soon as possible. We had to take shelter in a relief camp after the fire damaged our house,” said another person who did not wish to be named.
Also read: Assam: Baghjan fire completely doused after 172 days
Satyajit Moran, another affected said, “Tinsukia district administration has assured us that it will release the compensation amount for the affected families in the first week of December.”
Tiknajyoti Hazarika, a villager of Baghjan said, “After the Baghjan fire was doused the villagers have returned to their homes and those who couldn’t are living with their relatives.”
Oil India Limited (OIL) has been providing rupees 50,000 per month to six to seven affected families.
“I have received rupees 50,000 from OIL as compensation for the past two months,” said Hazarika, who is currently residing in a relative’s house.
The district administration till date has released an amount of rupees 36,900 crores as compensation to the affected.
This includes an interim relief of rupees 10.93 crores to 3000 families who had stayed in relief camps.
“An amount of rupees 25 lakhs was paid to each of the 12 families whose houses were completely damaged and rupees 10 lakhs to 57 families whose houses were partially damaged during the fire,” said an OIL official.
OIL also paid a compensation of rupees 2.5 lakhs to each of the 561 families whose houses or standing crops were partially damaged in the fire.
