Dissatisfied with the work done by Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) to plug the leak on the crude oil pipeline off the Nagapattinam coast, fishermen of Pattinamcherry and adjoining hamlets have threatened to intensify their protest from Monday.
N. Sakthivel, a fisherman from Pattinamcherry, said CPCL officials informed the fishermen on Saturday that the leak was plugged. “When we demanded that the officials exert pressure through the pipe, a leak was observed again on Sunday.”
He said the fishermen abstained from work for the third consecutive day on Sunday, demanding the pipeline be removed. But their demand had not been fulfilled yet.
The fishermen of Pattinamcherry, Akkaraipettai, Keechankuppam, Nambiyar Nagar, Ariyanatutheru, Kallar and Samandthampettai would discuss the issue on Monday morning.
Nagapattinam Collector A. Arun Thamburaj told The Hindu that the CPCL officials had informed him that they were carrying out reverse flushing with water to check for leakage.
A CPCL official said the work on arresting the leak was completed in the late hours of Saturday. The residual oil had been flushed out.
