CHENNAI: The city’s tourism industry is facing a threat as the oil spill following the collision of two cargo ships at Kamarajar Port in Ennore has reached the shores of Mamallapuram even as the Indian Coast Guard and other officials monitoring the environmental impact remain clueless.
Fishermen and clean-up volunteers said the beach was getting polluted due to the spill. “It is a place where tourists relish sunbath and take a walk. The black patches have reached the shore and it is hard to remove once your feet touches it,” said Santosh, a resident of a fishermen colony in Mamallapuram.
The GRT Temple Bay Beach Resort has brought to the notice of Mamallapuram Town Panchayat officials about traces of oil spill reaching the shores. A hotel official said they have asked the guests not to venture out. “We even informed the State government officials and the police after we found traces of oil on the beach on Sunday. It is not of a significant quantity,” he added.
Mamallapuram Town Panchayat executive officer told Express that the spill was noticed on Sunday and an advisory was sent to people not to venture into the sea. To a query on why he did not inform the Coast Guard, the EO said he was clueless about whom to report.
Meanwhile, a State government official said he was unaware of traces of oil spill along the Shore Temple beach. However, he said officials would carry out an inspection.
The sighting of oil spill flies in the face of the Coast Guard’s claim that the sludge along the coast has been cleared. When queried about traces of oil being found in the Mamallapuram coast, a spokesman wanted to know the location where the spill was found. “We will look into it,” he said.
Local fishermen said the Coast Guard used to take out only air sorties to check the spill without engaging in a reality check on the ground. According to them, the officials were passing the buck rather than taking up immediate action. “We contacted TN Pollution Control Board, Coast Guard and the district administration but everyone is passing the buck,” said Aine Edwards, a beach clean-up volunteer.
Meanwhile, Viraj Clean Sea Enterprises has started cleaning up traces of oil from the rocks in Bharatiyar Nagar in the North Chennai coast. “The boom was kept on the shore so that traces of oil removed from the rocks don’t get into the water,” said a Coast Guard spokesman. The work to clean up the rocks was stalled after local fishermen protested over the dumping of oil sludge on the beach.