CHENNAI: Stagnant water with a thick black layer of oil still surrounds two sides of M Rajeswari’s house in the sixth street in Adi Dravidar Colony in Ernavoor. Inhaling the stench from it continuously for more than a week now, she has developed breathing trouble apart from skin allergies.
With no other option, the residents cleaned the oil themselves. Many of them used detergent, diesel and several other locally-available chemicals to scrub the oil out of their homes. “When I complained of itching at the medical camps, they gave me an ointment. When I apply it, my skin bubbles up and then settles. The itching still continues. Our pet dog Tiger has been inactive since being exposed to the oil and he also has skin allergies. The stench is so strong at night,” said Rajeswari.
She added the electrical equipment, clothes and all the essential items at her home have been destroyed. She works as a domestic help while her husband is a daily wage labourer. Both are not able to go to work since the rains. “My son died a year ago and I had kept a few of his shirts in his memory. The oil has even destroyed them,” she said.
Several residents adjoining the Cooum river and Buckingham canal in Tiruvottiyur and Manali said they had similar symptoms while children reported diarrhoea and vomiting. Many of the children didn’t go to school till Tuesday. Of the nearly 95,000 households in Tiruvottiyur zone, 5,500 households in 14 locations in divisions 4, 6 and 7 were affected as the oil spill from CPCL, IOCL and container terminal mixed with the surplus water from the Poondi and Puzhal reservoirs, according to the officials.
“It is impossible for us to close the doors and be inside the houses for even five minutes as there is still a strong stench. When we were cleaning the oil, many of us felt nauseous and dizzy. If we take the children to the doctors, they give generic medicines. However, we are worried if the exposure to oil will have long-term health consequences,” said a woman from VP Street in Tiruvottiyur. The residents said that this is the first time they have been dealing with an oil spill and that they have received no guidance from the officials on how to deal with it.
Thick layer of oil which was also seen in the Buckingham Canal behind the Irular Colony in Sadayankuppam in Manali zone was causing a strong stench. The residents also said that they are faced with water shortage and water is supplied to them in containers as the water plant was also affected by the oil spill and it is yet to be repaired. Elected representatives said they are not sure when the water plant will start functioning.
The corporation has so far conducted 286 medical camps, 54 static camps and 232 mobile camps in which over 19,000 people were checked. Veterinary camps were also held in two places in which 75 animals were checked. Meanwhile, doctors said it is difficult to assess the long-term effect on the health of the people and added they are only providing medicines for the symptoms.