Sunamganj: There is no firewood, hay, straw or leaf in stoves. Nonetheless flame is leaping up without any fire making element in earthen stoves. At first, it will seem that there is some invisible flammable under the stove to make fire.  

However, bubbles are seen not only in earthen stove but also in the trench inside the gas field, roads, ponds, canals, fields, lands, tube-wells, schools, even houses. Flames are flowing out getting a little amount of ignition in the place. When people go to lit funnel light with match at night, the entire house catches fire flowing out from the cracks.

Huge gas is emitting at Tengratila and surrounding areas after two big blowouts took place in the gas field under Dowarabazar upazila in Sunamganj during drilling of a well in 2005.

Tengratila, Ajabpur, Girishnagar, Koiyajuri, Nurpur, Sonapur and Shantipur villages have become death-trap after the blowouts. Villages have to continue lives amid the fright of blasts and deaths. Health hazards and environmental disasters become part of daily life.

Jahanara Begum of Tengratila village said gas leak through the walls and eathen stoves of her house. She does not have to use fire-woods at all.

Fear of sudden blast and fire always haunts her.

Another resident of the village is Abul Hossain. He showed gas leaking through many portions of his house. Flames are leaping up when he even lights a candle.  

Abul Hossian said gas leaks through everywhere. Frequent accidents take place due to gas eruption.

Few days ago, Ibrahim Hossain’s son Moktar Hossain, a resident of Tengratila village, went to toilet in the morning. Flames leaped out of the pipe soon after he tapped into the match to light a cigarette. Parts of his body got burned and he was taken to Osmani Medical College and Hospital, Sylhet, as his condition was critical.

He returned home after nearly a month. Wounds from the burns are yet to be healed. Abul Hossain in this way depicted how people around Tengratila are living in death wells every day.

The six-acre gas field suffered blowouts on 7 January and on 24 June in 2005 while Canadian exploration company Niko was drilling a gas well there. The field has remained abandoned since a $106m damage suit against the firm is yet to be settled. The production of the gas field was stopped after the accident.

Visiting Tengratila, the state-run BAPEX officials last year assured there was no fear of further exploration and urged local people to stay calm and quite.

Despite no fear of further blast, excessive leakage of gas has been started in the surrounding areas of the gas field since last month. Due to arsenic and malodour in tube well water in different villages, acute drinking water crisis is seen and trees of the areas are being dying out. Gias Uddin (35), Muklesur Rahman Farazi (40), Abdul Matin (42) and Shafiqul Islam (30) of Girishnagar village are affected by drinking arsenic-laden water. Most people of the area are affected by various diseases.

Arsenic-affected Muklesur Rahman said, ‘Over the past few years, parts of my body have been infected and rashes appeared on palms and soles due to drinking water contaminated by arsenic.’

Villagers cannot have sleep at night in this situation. Despite holding human chain and giving memorandum to administration to solve the problem by outraged villagers, they didn’t receive any solution. Villagers brought out a protest procession at about 4:30pm on Friday and gave a deadline to resolve the crisis. If the government or Niko don’t take any initiative, they threatened to lock the Niko’s gate.  

Surma union council chairman Shahjahan Master said, ‘It has been 10 years since two blowouts occurred in Niko. The Niko authorities have wrapped up their activities after fulfilling a little compensation. In the last 10 years, people of the areas have experienced various losses.

Sunamganj Government Jubilee High School assistant head teacher Foyzur Rahman, also a resident of the area, said, ‘The excessive gas emission occurred three times in last few months. Trees are dying out due to the gas. New trees are also dying out. An average of 600% arsenic was found in all tube wells in the area.  People are also suffering from different complications, including respiratory problems. Living in Tengratila has become difficult in these circumstances. So, the government or Niko should resolve these problems as soon as possible to make the area liveable.’   

Dowarabazar upazila nirbahi officer Saiful Islam said, ‘Locals formed human chains several times and also sent applications to me. We’re looking into the issue.’

Sunamganj deputy commissioner Sheikh Rafiqul Islam said they can’t take any action until the government’s case against Niko was settled. Actions would be taken to resolve if arsenic problems are found in tube-wells.

Sunamganj Sadar Hospital residential medical officer Rafiq Ahmed said, ‘If malodour of gas continues longer, people will suffer from various skin diseases, including respiratory problems. They may suffer from cancer if they drink arsenic water for long time.’

Meanwhile, ecologists fear environment catastrophe as a result of Tengratila gas leakage. Sunamganj Environment Movement president Advocate Shafiqul Alam said, ‘Serious environment problems are prevailing in the area due to Tengratila gas leakage. It’s difficult to live in the area as trees are dying out, people are suffering from various skin diseases, respiratory problems, animals are also dying and there are no fishes in the ponds and lakes.’