Oil leak: CPCL removes section of old, faulty pipeline from Nagapattinam village
NAGAPATTINAM: In an apparent sign of relief for fisherfolk from Nagore Pattinacherry, the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), as part of decommissioning an old and faulty pipeline that leaked multiple times in March, removed a section of the pipeline from the village on Tuesday.
A section of the decades-old pipeline that passes near the shore of Nagore Pattinacherry and has been defunct for the past few years, leaked 'residual oil' at least four times in March. While the CPCL plugged the leaks and removed the spillage, fisherfolk in the area urged removal of the unsafe pipeline from their vicinity. In response, CPCL agreed to decommission their pipeline completely, and removed the 850-metre section.
Members of a committee formed by the National Green Tribunal constituted by its chairman and district collector A Arun Thamburaj, the district environmental engineer and three scientists from institutions under the Union government visited Pattinacherry and inspected the removed pipes. Fisherfolk from Nagore Pattinacherry, who have staged protests to remove the pipeline, expressed relief that it was removed in a swift manner following a meeting on March 16.
"We thank the company for respecting our demand to remove it and the district administrators for ensuring it. It has made us free from risks of coastal pollution for now," said T Sakthivel, a fisherfolk representative from Nagore Pattinacherry. The pipeline runs from CPCL's oil refinery to Karaikal Port for a distance of nine kilometres. A CPCL official said, "The rest of the pipeline will be removed in the coming months.
Being a public sector undertaking company, CPCL is committed towards the protection of public interests." A meeting was initially scheduled to be held in Nagapattinam on Tuesday in which the CPCL was directed to update developments on decommissioning the oil pipeline. It is learnt that the meeting was postponed to another date probably by this week. The fisherfolk have also demanded removal of the pipeline used by IOCL, which runs parallel to the CPCL pipeline, and IOCL officials have been directed to appear in the upcoming meeting to update their status on decommissioning their pipeline.