Date:27/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/27/stories/2007052703760500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur

Gas detected in borewells of Anantapur village

Staff Reporter

ANANTAPUR: After Vengannagaripalli, it is the turn of Goparajupalli in Putluru mandal of Anantapur district, just 5 km away from the former, to make it to news for gushing of gas from borewells. The villagers detected gas by lighting matchsticks near three borewells.

Water caught fire, though only for few seconds, every time they light a matchstick near the water coming out of the pumpset.

In all, the villagers detected gas in three borewells in Goparajupalli on Saturday.

On learning about this, Putluru Tehsildar Rasool Bi visited the village on the directions of district Collector D. Kadmiel and examined the claims of the villagers and found them to be correct. The Collector directed Anantapur RDO A.V. Ramprasad to visit the village on Sunday and give him a report.

Detection of gas in a few more borewells, even before getting the complete report on the Vengannagaripalli gas, is creating a matter of great safety concern among local people.

As per the preliminary report of the ONGC on the gas coming out from Vengannagaripalli RWS borewell and its surroundings, the hydrocarbons in the gas contain 89 per cent methane.

The ONGC's preliminary report did not specify whether gas was thermogenic or biogenic. The samples were sent to ONGC laboratory in Dehradun to find the nature of the gas and samples were also taken by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad, for an isotopic study to find from which depth of the earth the gas was coming from.

It will also help in arriving at a conclusion whether the gas is emanating from any decomposed material in the layers of earth (biogenic) or from heat and pressure in the layers (thermogenic).

For the time being, the district administration is making arrangements to lead the gas out of the village through a pipeline and burn it in the atmosphere by raising the pipe for 20 ft.