Irate crowd set fire to garbage dangerously close to an oil well as other protesters pelted police personnel with stones resulting in the forces resorting to a cane charge in Kadiramangalam in Thanjavur district on Friday.
Police have picked up dozens of men and women protesters from the village that resembles a battle zone.
For well over two months, the villagers have been up in arms against the exploration activities of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which has been producing oil and natural gas in the village since 2002 after sinking 11 wells.
On Friday, tension escalated when a pipeline burst leading to oil spill affecting a farm field. Seizing the opportunity, villagers intensified their protests even as Anti- Methane Project Federation leaders and Tiruvidaimarudur MLA Kovi Chezhian (DMK) arrived at the site to argue on behalf of the villagers. The protesters are demanding that the ONGC leave the village lock, stock and barrel, literally.
To defuse the situation and heeding the demand of the protesting villagers, Thanjavur Collector A. Annadurai visited the oil spill-affected field and assured them that all steps would be taken to protect their livelihood, farm fields and groundwater resources. He also allayed the fears of the villagers over ONGC operations in their area.
Earlier, the protesters insisted on the visit of the Collector and an assurance from him, as Kumbakonam Sub Collector Pradeep Kumar and Thanjavur SP J. Mahesh tried to pacify the agitating crowd. They rushed to Kadiramangalam after the villagers set fire to dry waste dangerously close to an oil well and prevented the police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel from dousing it.
In the melee, miscreants pelted the police personnel with stones in which three men, including an Inspector of Police, were injured. It led to retaliatory cane charging by the police, forcing the protesters to run away. The ONGC officials reached the site to put out the fire and set right the pipeline.
‘Threat to groundwater’
“The ONGC had sunk around 11 oil wells and is engaged in oil and natural gas exploration since 2002 in our village. Its activities have resulted in a huge drop in groundwater table and oil spills have denuded the green fields over the years. We fear the exploration activities are the reason for water pollution in our area. So, we want the ONGC to go away from our village. But the police and the administration are harassing us,”' alleged the villagers.
Central Zone Inspector General of Police Varadaraj and senior officials are camping in the village to monitor the situation.
