An observation team of Organization for the Protection of Democratic Rights (OPDR) which visited the pipeline blast site at Nagaram in East Godavari district blamed the poor safety standards for the ghastly incident which killed 21 and maimed scores of others.
Team leaders K. Yesu (OPDR State President), V. Hanumantha Rao and P. Koti Reddy stated in a press release that the explosion of the GAIL pipeline left a trail of destruction which could be avoided by having a foolproof safety mechanism in place but officials of GAIL and ONGC were apparently lacking in their duties. Their response to the incident was poor and the Government and GAIL and ONGC continued to be negligent in ensuring the recovery of those seriously injured in the incident and compensating the victims for properties lost by them.
The OPDR leaders demanded that a long-term plan that would prevent and mitigate the impact of disasters involving oil and gas installations should be drafted lest more people should perish in incidents such as the one that shook Nagaram and its surroundings, flattening everything situated in its close proximity.
Ageing pipelines should be removed, controlling points set for every two kilometres instead of 15 km and basically the oil and gas extraction and evacuation systems should be located far away from habitations and a public hearing should be conducted on the mishap by independent experts.
