Dibrugarh: Oil pipeline bursts again in Tingkhong, panic and anger grip locality

Dibrugarh district witnessed renewed panic on Tuesday morning, January 6, after a crude oil pipeline burst again at Shalmari Dighalia in the Tingkhong area, barely hours after a similar incident at the same location the previous night.

According to local residents, the fear triggered by the earlier pipeline blast had not subsided when, at around 10 am, the pipeline ruptured once again, causing crude oil to gush out at high pressure. The fresh leakage sparked panic among villagers, who feared the possibility of another major accident in the oil-producing region.

Locals accused Oil India Limited (OIL) of negligence, alleging that the repair work carried out after the night-time incident was only temporary. They claimed that although company officials had stopped the leakage after the first blast, crude oil began flowing again from the same ruptured point on Tuesday morning. After nearly an hour of efforts, OIL personnel managed to contain the leak for the second time.

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The repeated leakage has caused extensive damage in the area, with crude oil spreading across agricultural land and fish-rearing ponds in Dibrugarh’s Tingkhong region. A thick layer of oil has covered farmlands and water bodies, while the pungent smell of crude oil has engulfed the locality, triggering widespread anger among residents.

Villagers said recurring pipeline failures in Dibrugarh reflect the deteriorating condition of ageing oil infrastructure. They demanded immediate compensation for affected families and called for permanent measures, including burying or replacing old pipelines, to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The incident has once again raised serious concerns over pipeline safety, environmental damage and corporate accountability in Dibrugarh, one of Assam’s key oil-producing districts.