Magurchara

The day began like any other in the village of Magurchara Khasi Punji, located about 600 meters from the Magurchara gas field. But, it rapidly turned into a nightmare towards dawn. The residents of the village were startled out of their slumber by the sound of a deafening explosion. As people came out of their homes to investigate, what they saw was a towering inferno that seemed to light up everything for miles round. The sky itself was orange with the blaze and the smell of smoke and ash was enough to force the people into immediate action. Families who were in danger, scurried away to pack their belongings and find a safer haven before the roaring tongues of fire reached their tiny little village.

It was a terrifying sight for those who saw the blaze. And the terror remained for twenty-one days before finally dying down. Bangladesh had just witnessed its worst ever man made environmental disaster. And people were unsure how to react. For a country riddled with destruction every year from the forces of nature in the form of monsoon rains and floods, a gas explosion was a situation nobody had ever had the foresight to an

After the explosion, rail lines were closed for five months although the blow out was not sealed for another six months. This disruption in communications proved to be extremely costly to many producers who relied on railways for the transport of their goods between Dhaka and Sylhet.

Unocal on the other hand, rejected the claim. According to officials, the reported claim of Petro Bangla for Magurchara gas explosion had already been settled before through a 1998 supplementary agreement. The supplementary agreement awarded the Petrobangla additional five percent on gas discovered by Unocal in block number 14. Scott Barber, President and Managing Director of Unocal told newspaper officials from UNB that all legitimate claims from affected tea garden owners, private individuals and various government entities had been settled except environmental damage demands. These remained pending since it had taken 18 months to agree to appoint a third party internationally recognized to assess the cost of replenishing the environment.

ticipate. Moreover, this lack of foresight was the main cause of what later became an issue that caught national headlines all across the country. The Magurchara blow out would bring into limelight many ethical issues concerned with gas exploration and compensation for damage in case of gas well blow outs.

A total of 40 families were living in the reserved area for the tribal people, known as ‘punji’. These families were dependent entirely on growing of betel leaf for sustenance. Besides destroying the betel growing areas and crops, the inferno had also burnt five houses of the Khasia families totally and seven others partially, leaving them homeless. Many of the ppeople also had to be relocated as a precautionary measure. Some children suffered from hearing problems due to the noise at the time of the explosion.

Some topics in this essay:
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