A gas scare left the villagers of Silfore in Chandankyari block, about 35 km from the district headquarter of Bokaro, in a great deal of panic. The presence of coal-bed methane around the village has made life tough as locals are forced to survive on dry, soaked and puffed grains. “It’s feared that a strike of a match stick may turn homes into a fire chamber,” said Santosh a villager.
The situation went worse when as sudden coal-bed methane gas started to escape from a deep boring near Ambedkar Chowk of the village and it caught fire on Sunday afternoon.
“We are facing a tough time. The situation is so gloomy that burning a single match in our house could cause a huge disaster,” said Umesh Mahato.
A large quantity of coal-bed methane gas is present in these areas since the extraction is carried out by ONGC nearby.
ONGC experts rushed to spot and after lots of exercise the fire got controlled. According to the CMPDI (Central Mine Planning and Design Institute) report, these areas are already declared as a danger zone.