In Dantewada, dreams turn from liquid gold to dust – Times of India

For a few hours on Friday morning, a group of villages in Maoist-hit Dantewada thought it was a miracle. That they had found liquid gold and their wells had magically turned into oil wells overnight.
Villagers brought out buckets of gasoline. Nearby villages also participated. There was plenty to do! Land prices would skyrocket, they thought. But the euphoria evaporated as police and district officials swarmed the hamlets, going door to door asking for the petrol to be returned.
Power supply disconnected to prevent ‘disaster’ at the location of the MP petrol leak
The oil-in-a-day work drama took place in the Geedam region. When residents of some villages went to the springs for their morning ablutions, they were surprised to see the smell of gasoline. When they collected buckets of water, they were given gasoline.
The news spread like wild animals. Cheerful villagers collected the oil by the bucketful. The ‘happy news’ also reached the administration. Officials were alarmed by the possibility of a fire disaster and rushed teams to the villages. Officials of a petroleum PSU also arrived. They discovered that there were indeed pits swimming with gasoline.
A quick check revealed that the owner of a nearby fuel pump was dismayed to have lost 14,000 liters of petrol and had filed a police complaint, suspecting it had been stolen. Officials believe the gasoline leaked from a 16,000-gallon underground reservoir.
The police have closed the wells to ensure that no accidents occur. Fire tenders have been placed. Electricity was cut for fear that a spark would cause a disaster, and roads were barricaded for hours. People have been asked not to use inflammable objects until permission is given.
Dantewada collector in-charge Jayant Nahata said one well was affected but villagers said petrol was found in several wells. After a preliminary investigation, police say the reservoir burst and the gasoline seeped into groundwater channels and into wells. The police are going around to collect buckets of gasoline and the region will remain closed for the time being.
Nahata told TOI that an inquiry had been ordered. Hindustan Petroleum was also asked to conduct an investigation and assist in corrective action. A thorough test of 21 ground source samples, including soil and water collected from the area around the petrol pump, was carried out with no traces of odor or petrol found. One well was found contaminated. Petrol is extracted from it using pumps,” he added.