Panicked locals said the entire area jolted repeatedly for the fourth day yesterday.

Sufferings of people of the nearby villages, many of whom had left their houses on safety grounds, further mounted as arsenic contamination of tubewell water has created drinking water crisis.

Niko officials detected the contamination of water and asked the locals to avoid drinking it.

Meanwhile, public protests against Niko' activities and panic among locals intensified yesterday amid reports that the Canadian company is gong to drill a fresh relief well to seal the main well that had caught fire earlier following the January 7 explosion in it.

Niko officials said preparations are underway for the job.

A team of drilling experts visited the gas field areas yesterday.

The proposed relief well will be about 230 metres off the damaged main well, sources said.

A Niko engineer said preliminary work for the new relief well begins next week. Transportation of components of US company Century's rig from Moulvibazar gas field will start on July 2.

Niko has already prepared the design for the new relief well and will submit it to Petrobangla for approval in a day or two. "If everything goes well, the company is hopeful of starting the drilling on July 25," the engineer said requesting anonymity.

Against this backdrop, locals said they apprehend another disaster since irresponsible activities of the Canadian company have caused repeated explosions in the same gas field, putting them in great danger.

Different organisations held rallies and brought out processions at Tengrtaila, demanding immediate steps against Niko.

The government-formed probe body headed by Dr Anwarul Azim, which visited Tengratila on Tuesday and had talks with Niko officials here, returned to the capital yesterday evening.

In Sylhet city, Greater Sylhet Gonodabi Parishad, a citizens forum held a rally at Surma Market point yesterday with former lawmaker Muhammad Ashraf Ali in the chair.

The rally protested Niko's 'destruction' of gas resources at

Tengratila and demanded compensation for the affected people in three days.

A tougher agitation programme will be announced on from a rally on July 3 at Court Point if the demand is not met, speakers at yesterdy's rally said.

Deputy Commissioner of Sunamganj Jafar Siddique yesterday received a cheque for about Tk 1. 7 crore in compensation for the victims of the 7 January blowout. Managing Director of Bapex Md Jamal Uddin handed over the cheque to the DC at Tengratila.