Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDL) has spread fear in Jati and Chuhar Jamali, two coastal towns of the Sujawal district, by conducting blasts in agricultural lands of the area to find oil deposits.
According to local residents and the officials of the area the dynamite is being used on daily basis for this purpose by the officials of the company for drawing holes in the land but this process not only disturbs local population but also inflicts adverse impacts on their agricultural land located nearby. The officials had earlier ensured them of using alternative sources for extracting oil but by becoming in violation of agreed terms and conditions they have resorted to this extremely perilous method.
Owais Ali Shah a local resident revealed that there were several lands occupied by the company whose owners were not living there and local feudal lords were getting the benefits instead of the real owners of the land. Some 18 big pits have developed in the affected lands but no oil has been found so far. Social Activist Zeeshan Khawaja revealed that such activity was causing environmental Hazards in the area and would also leave an unfavourable impact on the productivity of the agricultural lands of this area adding that so far the company had provided no visible benefit to the area. “These companies have been here for decades but no fate of locals could change” he mentioned. Allah Bachayo Thaheem said that they had multiple times approached them for applying a safe method of oil extraction but every time officials silenced them giving fear to local feudal lords who he alleged were hand and gloves with them getting their due share.
