KANNIYAKUMARI: Collector R Alagumeena on Monday said that nurdles have been spotted in 36 of the total 42 coastal villages across the district. The nurdles have reached up to Manakudi coastal village (located on the outskirts of Kanniyakumari town) and the process of removing them has been going on. The entire exercise is being recorded by drones, she said. While all the 16 coastal villages in Killiyoor taluk in the district have been affected, 10 of 13 villages in Kalkulam taluk, and 10 of 13 hamlets in Agastheeswaram taluk have been hit, sources said.
After a Liberia-flagged container vessel MSC Elsa 3 sank off Kochi on May 24, a container washed ashore along the Vaniyakudi coast near Colachel last Thursday. An expert team retrieved the container and handed it over to the customs office in Thoothukudi. A total of 858 bags of nurdles, each weighing approximately 25kg, have been collected so far. On Monday, 248 bags were collected, the collector said.
Speaking to reporters at the district collectorate in Nagercoil on Monday, Alagumeena said the collected nurdles would be shifted to various fishing harbours in the district.
Several workers are involved in the cleaning work, and 30 members of a private agency MERC, Gujarat, appointed by the ship company, arrived in Kanniyakumari on Monday to join the cleaning drive.
The collector said, “As the nurdles may continue to reach the shore for a long time, we are regularly monitoring them.” The collector said the nurdles were being cleaned as per existing SOPs. Some wooden logs and edible items, too, have washed ashore.
Saying that some of the containers in the sunken ship had dangerous materials, the collector said that no dangerous material, however, had reached the Kanniyakumari district coast so far.
Asked whether the nurdles would pose any danger to the marine life, the collector said that only experts can give an opinion on that. To a question on the demand for compensation for fishermen, she said that it would be decided by government.
Sources said that plastic nurdles, calcium carbine, Marine Gas Oil (MGO), and VLSFO were among the goods in the containers.