Silchar: Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s (IOCL) LPG bottling plant at Jarailtola will remain shut for six months for repairs and safety assessments.The plant, in Cachar’s Borkhola area, has an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes and supplies LPG cylinders to Cachar and other parts of the Barak Valley.Two of its three gas vessels have remained defunct for nearly two years, forcing the facility to rely on the third for bottling. As the remaining vessel nears the end of its operational life, officials said a temporary shutdown became necessary for safety reasons.The two defunct vessels will be repaired during the shutdown, while the third will be assessed.Rajya Sabha MP Kanad Purkayastha and Borkhola MLA Kishore Nath visited the plant and held a two-hour meeting with officials, including GGM Rajjyoti Das and plant manager P Chakma.The proposed closure has caused apprehension among workers amid rumours that the plant could be shut permanently. Purkayastha and Nath said the shutdown was for repair and maintenance, and that workers’ interests would be protected. Plant officials assured them that employees would receive benefits under labour laws.The leaders questioned why repairs had not been undertaken earlier and said a prolonged closure would be undesirable as the region seeks investment and employment.Purkayastha said he took up the issue with the Union minister concerned and stressed the need to complete the overhaul at the earliest.The focus is on completing the work within the stipulated period and preventing disruption to LPG supplies in the Barak Valley.
