Fuel contamination in wells near Kannur Central Jail petrol pump sparks public outcry

Protests are mounting in Kannur over the alleged apathy of the authorities nearly a month after fuel contamination was detected in domestic wells near the petrol pump on the Kannur Central Jail premises, raising serious public health concerns.

Tests done by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) found abnormally high levels of hydrocarbons in well water on Jai Jawan Road near the pump. Residents alleged that no effective remedial measures had been initiated despite the findings and submission of reports to the district administration.

The matter came to light following a complaint filed on December 15 last year by C.H. Surendran, a resident, after water in his well reportedly became unusable. PCB officials inspected the site and collected samples from three neighbouring houses and the well at the jail quarters near the petrol pump.

The samples were sent to the PCB’s central laboratory in Ernakulam for analysis. The report found the presence of hydrocarbons in the form of petrol and diesel, and it was ascertained that all the wells were highly polluted due to leakage of petroleum products.

Based on the findings, the PCB informed the District Collector, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation. Though the IOCL division office responded that pipeline pressure tests were done for the entire network, and that no leakage was found, the senior environmental engineer of the PCB observed that a large amount of mineral oil from the fuel outlet, and no other potential sources, was identified on the premises. The environmental engineer also directed IOCL to implement remedial measures.

Meanwhile, K.V. Sumesh, Azhikode MLA, met District Collector Arun K. Vijayan on Monday and sought urgent action as the matter was extremely serious and required urgent action to prevent further environmental damage. The Collector announced that a joint meeting of the representatives of IOCL, Kannur Central Jail, and residents’ associations would be convened soon to decide on corrective measures.

In his letter to Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, Kannur MP K. Sudhakaran demanded that IOCL be directed to conduct a comprehensive technical inspection of underground storage tanks and allied infrastructure at the retail outlet to identify and plug any leakage causing groundwater contamination.