All Assam Students' Union (AASU) 'imposed' a 96-hour blockade on Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Monday to protest the oil major's alleged move to privatize its Assam Assets operations.
ONGC officials at Nazira - its Assam Assets headquarters near Sivasagar in eastern Assam - said AASU members prevented employees from attending office or operate the oilrigs. The trigger for the blockade was the oil major's announcement of a Rs 24 billion investment plan to boost crude oil production in Assam.
The investment is part of the Rs 44 billion Assam Renewal Project involving comprehensive replacement and expansion of equipment and facilities, drilling of hi-tech wells and revamping of ageing drilling rigs. Hyderabad-based Sairama Engineering Enterprises and Megha Engineering in consortium with Russian company Volgo bagged the contract for the Assam Renewal Project.
"This is ONGC's ploy to privatize the Assam oilfields that would risk the jobs and livelihood of hundreds of indigenous people working here, and we won't allow that to happen," said AASU president Shankar Prasad Roy. "We will relent only after a commitment from ONGC that its operations in Assam won't be privatized."
ONGC, however, dismissed privatization fears and negated any move to sell off assets in Assam or privatize its oilfields. "What we have undertaken is a massive exercise to double crude production in Assam in the next two years from the current levels of 1.2 million tonnes annually from some 40 oilfields," said a spokesman of the PSU.
{{/usCountry}}ONGC, however, dismissed privatization fears and negated any move to sell off assets in Assam or privatize its oilfields. "What we have undertaken is a massive exercise to double crude production in Assam in the next two years from the current levels of 1.2 million tonnes annually from some 40 oilfields," said a spokesman of the PSU.
{{/usCountry}}The day also saw AASU targeting another PSU - National Hydro Power Corporation - at Gerukamukh on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh to the northeast of Nazira. The NHPC is building the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri power project near the site.
Along with members of Takam Mishing Poring Kebang, a local organization of Mishing tribal people, AASU activists laid siege of the NHPC office and asked officials to abandon the power project.