THANJAVUR: Resentment over police action during the protest against Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) operations and continuing presence of police personnel in and around the village continues to simmer in Kathiramangalam. The village, which has the largest population in the Tiruppanandal Union, has been on the boil since May 19, when a large number of villagers laid siege to ONGC’s Kuthalam 7 oil well. They suspected the oil major has been mobilising equipment for coal-bed methane or shale gas extraction at the site. This has been denied by ONGC.
Company officials said equipment was brought in to service the well to improve its output. This explanation did not satisfy the locals, who withdrew their protest only after one of the bunker houses was moved out.
Talks to bring the volatile situation under control were held on May 25 at the assistant collector’s office. It failed and on the night of June 1, a large number of police personnel descended on Kathiramangalam and ONGC resumed work the following day. Around 350 residents were arrested and others were under a virtual house arrest for the next few days. Ten protesters, including T Jayaraman of the Anti-Methane Project, were remanded in custody.
On June 30, when a leak was found in the pipeline near oil well 35 on the Pandanallur Road, the villagers did not allow ONGC officials to visit the spot. Later in the evening, police lathi-charged the villagers and the leak in the field of Sriram, an organic farmer, was plugged. From then on, protests continue unabated. Even after 60 days, the bitterness against police action lingers on.
P Ramamurthy, a former village panchayat president, said though the tahsildar has assured the drilling equipment would be sent back, 2,000 police personnel descended on the village and kept residents under house arrest as ONGC carried on with its work. Bus services to Kathiramangalam were suspended, isolating the village from the rest of the world, he said.
Another resident said even relatives from other villages could not enter Kathiramangalam as police posts were set up at approaches like Sivaramapuram, Kodiyalam, Thirukkodikaval and Kunathalaippadi. Even now, all vehicles on roads leading to Kathiramangalam are being checked for college students wanting to join the stir.
Though the water supplied through the overhead tank of the local body is clear in colour, villagers say the water from hand pumps are turbid.
“Water supplied from the overhead tank is clear, but is sufficient for only 2,500 residents. There are around 8,000 voters in the village,” K Muruganandam, a member of the village protest committee, told Express. Water from the hand pumps is clear initially, but turns yellowish. Oil can be seen floating in it, he alleged.
Sriram, whose land was affected by the oil leak, told Express that he was not satisfied with the remediation of soil done by ONGC and asked for bio-remediation.
He is still awaiting word from ONGC. Sriram said the oil also spilled into the trenches around his field which would overflow into other fields when it rains.
Meanwhile, residents withdrew their three-day relay hunger strike on Wednesday after the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court admitted the bail petitions of the 10 people arrested during protest and reserved order. But they continued their relay fast for the third day at Ayyanar Temple in the village.
Ramamurthy and D Rajaraman, a farmer of the village who is on hunger strike from Monday, also continued their protest. When news reached the venue that the bail petitions had been admitted, the hunger strike was called off. Muruganandam said as their main demand was the release of the 10 people, the hunger strike was called off following the admission of their bail petitions.
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