Author: M Valliappan

Corroded oil pipeline - Image courtesy www.militarytimesedge.com

A leak in an underground oil pipeline in Tiruvottiyur on February 8, 2013 set off panic among residents even as oil company officials initiated immediate action to plug the hole and clear the contaminated soil on Ottravadai Street. While CPCL officials said that the pipeline was being monitored regularly and no abnormality had been detected, TNPCB officials, who inspected the spot, said the leak was due to corrosion.

Residents said the leak was first been noticed at 6.30 a.m. By 8 a.m., the area was cordoned off by Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) with the assistance of the fire service personnel and Central Industrial Security Force.

Soon, the excavation of the area began and the workers kept throwing mud on the oil collected in the pit dug up to plug the leak on Ottravadai Street. Chennai Corporation Councillor Prabhakaran said the residents have been complaining about the oil leak for the past few months. Many wells and bore wells in the residential locality have been closed because of oil contamination. CPCL officials said the leak had been plugged by evening.