Date:22/04/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/04/22/stories/2007042212370300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur

ONGC experts collect gas, water samples from borewell

Staff Reporter

ANANTAPUR: A two-member team of experts from the regional office of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) at Rajahmundry inspected the drinking water borewell from which gas was gushing out at C. Vengannagaripalli in Putlur mandal on Saturday.

The team, comprising senior scientist N.S.R. Murthy and senior geologist B. Ratnam, arrived at the village late in the evening and were camping in the village till night along with district officials. The experts collected the samples of gas, water and soil from near the borewell.

Deputy Director of Groundwater Department C.V. Ramanna and other officials, including incharge Tehsildar of Putluru G. Ramakrishna Reddy, accompanied ONGC experts. They suggested seizure of the borewell and not to utilise the water for any purpose till they examined the samples.

They also enquired with the villagers about other farm borewells were intermittent gushing of gas was being noticed in the recent past. The quality of water in the RWS borewell was good in the rainy season as groundwater table was up and the quality had deteriorated with the depletion of groundwater now.

The nature of gas gushing out of the borewells, quantity of gas and quality of water would be know only after testing the samples, the experts told the district officials.