RAMANATHAPURAM: A day after plastic nurdles from the Kochi ship wreck washed ashore in Dhanushkodi, around 500kg of nurdles have been cleaned on Tuesday.
According to sources, the district administration has deployed 150 workers to clean the shore and they collected 30 bags of nurdles from the beach. On Monday, nurdles were found for nearly 12 km from the Kothandaramar temple till Dhanushkodi old church.
Speaking to TNIE, Ramanathapuram collector Simranjeet Singh Kahlon said, “Several bags of plastic nurdles that washed ashore have been collected and kept for safe disposal. Further, sanitary workers from Rameswaram and nearby local bodies, along with volunteers, have collected 30 bags full of nurdles that spilled out of the bags on to the sand.”
He added that impact of nurdles on the ecosystem is being studied by an agency engaged by the government.
Wildlife warden R Murugan said the forest department will be carrying out a special drive to check the 21 islands located within the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere to see if nurdles reached there, and initiate clean-up.
Fishermen association leaders urged marine research institutions to study the impact of the debris on the marine eco system.