After residents along the Thiruvottiyur High Road in Tondiarpet complained of crude oil seepage in ground water from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, the company’s officials have begun measures to clean the affected borewells in the area.
TNPCB officials, who confirmed that water samples have been collected from borewells for testing, said the results would be available only after a week. “Some homes had been severely affected. Till water supply for the residents is restored, they would be provided water through alternative means,” they assured.
BPCL, the public sector company, has employed a contractor to pump out water and petroleum from the borewells. The contractor involved in the cleaning operation said that 18 borewells had been affected by the seepage, with four homes severely hit.
This is the sixth such leakage reported in North Chennai in less than a year and the fourth incident in Tondiarpet. Meanwhile, Union Forests and Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said that the ministry was undertaking a study in over 400 homes in the area. She assured residents that action would be taken against erring companies and faulty pipelines would be closed.
Earlier in the day, she conducted a review with the officials from oil marketing companies and asked them to prevent leakages and other accidents in future. Personnel are currently working on plugging the leaks and preventing further seepage of crude oil. The contractor who is working on the leak said that the work would be completed within the next couple of days.