Gas leaking again, 11 families move to safety

The houses were about 200 netres from the gas well where a massive blowout on January 7 caused a fire that damaged crops and the environment and burnt a huge quantity of gas.

An official of Nico said, "We asked them to move for security reasons as we saw gas leaking at several points on four homesteads.

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"We have decided to give each family Tk 6,000 per month as compensation till the situation allows them to stay in their houses again".

Meanwhile the 'Tengratila Namkoron O Dabi Aday Samity', a newly formed body in the area, on Thursday handed over a list of 600 more affected families to the company, demanding compensation.

Another list of 82 affected traders has also been handed over to the company by Tangratila Traders Association for compensation, members of the association and company officials said.

"We will check the lists and take necessary steps" a company official said.

Compensation payment has been decided but it may take some time, he said.

The company earlier paid Tk 5000 to each of 616 affected families as "immediate assistance" just after the blowout. Work for a drilling pad to dig a relief well 250 metres from the blowout site is going on.

The Relief well is being drilled to seal the original well

through "directional drilling", the official added.

It may take at least one month to complete the preparatory work for drilling, he said.