Curious local residents crowd the well where oily liquid has been found. Telegraph picture

Paradip, Jan. 10: Construction workers engaged in a school building project near here were in for a pleasant surprise.

Unlettered labourers stumbled upon greasy, oily substances gushing out from a pit dug out in the Bhitargada slum settlement within the Paradip Municipality jurisdictions. The stream of oil gradually slowed down, but continued to trickle in drops.

“Work at the Bhitargada upper-primary school under the reconstruction of school building project (RSBP) has been going on for the last two weeks. After the oil stream was found, the construction work has stopped,” said Braja Kishore Mallah, member of the local school education committee.

Residents on the outskirts of the port town here are left awe-struck after the chance discovery. As curious local residents are making a beeline to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon, classroom teaching has been affected in the school.

“The students’ attendance was a bit high today. But they faced disturbances as onlookers crowded the spot where oil was traced,” said Ajay Barik, headmaster of the school.

“The liquid stuff that came out of the dug out pit smells like that of petroleum products. Only experts could say what the liquid substances exactly are,” he added.

Local residents, however, believe that the liquid stuff owed its origin to crude oil leakage from the Paradip-Haldia pipeline.

Cracks in the oil refinery pipeline might have led to oil deposit at the particular site. The Jagatsinghpur district administration has sought experts’ help to ascertain the exact nature of the chance discovery.

“The administration has deputed the Kujang tehsildar to rush to the spot and conduct an assessment. The Paradip-based Indian Oil Corporation Limited officials have also been requested to investigate the source of oil substances,” said Narayan Chandra Jena, Jagatsinghpur collector.

“If required, we may seek the assistance of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) personnel. At present, we are waiting for Indian Oil’s view in the matter,' he said.

“Indian Oil officers have rushed to spot. They are examining the nature and the source of the greasy liquid,” said N.K. Panda, chief manager of Indian Oil’s Paradip-Haldia pipeline project.