Residents of Tiruvottiyur Kuppam, a fishing hamlet, on Tuesday, reported oil floating on the waves and being washed ashore. Tar blobs were found on the sand on the beach outside their village.
Panjan, a fisherman, said this was the first time they were seeing traces of oil in the two weeks after January 28, when oil leaked from a cargo ship off Kamarajar Port in Ennore following a collision.
Fishermen of Mamallapuram, Kalpakkam and Pulicat had earlier complained that oil had reached their shores and that efforts were yet to be taken to clean up the mess.
“Not even officials of the district administration visited our villages. We have submitted a memorandum to the Fisheries Department, requesting them to remove the oil,” said Karunakaran of Light House Kuppam in Pulicat.
Meanwhile, sources involved in the clean-up operations said the residual oil in the sea was likely to keep moving along with the currents and would keep washing ashore for a couple of more weeks.
“The major portion of the oil has been removed. We have instructed Kamarajar Port authorities and the Coast Guard to keep a constant watch and wherever necessary, conduct clean-up operations along with the local bodies concerned,” said a source. The oil blobs on Mamallapuram beach were removed on Tuesday and a team would be deputed to clean up areas in Pulicat on Wednesday. “The clean-up operations are not yet over. We are still watching the shores,” said an official source.
Environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman said the liability for the whole issue primarily lay with the Port, which only tried to contain its own liability. “Even till the fourth or fifth day, they kept saying there was no spill and there was only a sheen,” he said, adding that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board should also be held accountable. “They have not even issued a warning or advisory to the public about exposure to the oil or to not pick up the tar on the beaches,” he said.
Panjan, a fisherman, said this was the first time they were seeing traces of oil in the two weeks after January 28, when oil leaked from a cargo ship off Kamarajar Port in Ennore following a collision.
Fishermen of Mamallapuram, Kalpakkam and Pulicat had earlier complained that oil had reached their shores and that efforts were yet to be taken to clean up the mess.
“Not even officials of the district administration visited our villages. We have submitted a memorandum to the Fisheries Department, requesting them to remove the oil,” said Karunakaran of Light House Kuppam in Pulicat.
Meanwhile, sources involved in the clean-up operations said the residual oil in the sea was likely to keep moving along with the currents and would keep washing ashore for a couple of more weeks.
“The major portion of the oil has been removed. We have instructed Kamarajar Port authorities and the Coast Guard to keep a constant watch and wherever necessary, conduct clean-up operations along with the local bodies concerned,” said a source. The oil blobs on Mamallapuram beach were removed on Tuesday and a team would be deputed to clean up areas in Pulicat on Wednesday. “The clean-up operations are not yet over. We are still watching the shores,” said an official source.
Environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman said the liability for the whole issue primarily lay with the Port, which only tried to contain its own liability. “Even till the fourth or fifth day, they kept saying there was no spill and there was only a sheen,” he said, adding that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board should also be held accountable. “They have not even issued a warning or advisory to the public about exposure to the oil or to not pick up the tar on the beaches,” he said.