The government has demanded compensation from the Canadian company Niko for the inferno at the Tengratila gas field which has damaged the ecosystem of the surrounding areas, and destroyed the livelihood of the people living there.

‘Niko executives were summoned to the Ministry of Environment and Forest, and the minister, Tariqul Islam, asked them to compensate for the damage to natural systems and livelihood,’ a senior official told New Age after a meeting at the ministry on Monday.

The ministry asked the Department of Environment and Niko to conduct an ‘environmental damage assessment’ to measure the damage caused by the inferno to the environment and people of that area, said a meeting source.

The Niko Bangladesh president, Kashem Sharif, and adviser, G Nuruzzaman Bablu, met the minister where the state minister for environment and forest, Jafrul Islam Chowdhury, and the director general of the Department of Environment, Khan M Ibrahim Hossain, were also present.

The ‘apparently accidental’ fire, which is still out of control, caused a massive blowout at the Tengratila gas field, 30 kilometres from the north-eastern district of Sunamganj, since January 8 and caused huge damage to nature and livelihood.

Tariqul blasted Niko for not having adequate safety arrangements to face the colossal fire as an extra rig is yet to reach the scene, from Chittagong, for directional drilling to put out the blaze.

He asked Niko to ensure increased assistance for the affected people, saying compensation of Tk 5,000 for each family, provided by the company, was ‘pitiful’.

The investigation committee of the ministry, headed by the DoE director-general, is expected to submit its report in a day or two.

The committee found that although there was no casualty, trauma still prevails among the local residents who, after several days of stay in safer places, returned to their homes, said an official of the ministry.

The eruption destroyed standing crops in five villages during the fire, and also destroyed fisheries, particularly at Kholse beel, a natural water body, near the gas field, said a ministry official.

The committee also found that the fire burnt a number of trees, forced thousands of migratory winter birds to fly out, and destroyed habitats of local bird species in a large area.

The Niko bosses explained the initiatives of the company taken after the fire for controlling the fire and rehabilitating the people, who were forced to flee their homes.

They told the minister that the fire has caused huge damage to the company, destroying expensive equipments including a rig.

‘We told them you will get insurance coverage for your equipments and site,’ a senior official, who joined the meeting, told New Age. ‘But what will we and the people of the locality get for the massive damage to environment, crops and fisheries?’

‘It is really difficult to assess damage to environment, biodiversity, crops and fisheries,’ he said.

‘Experts from home and abroad will asses the damage,’ the DoE director general told New Age.