Residents and government authorities have joined hands to clean beaches affected by the oil spill.
Juhu residents are monitoring the clean-up drive undertaken by the agencies appointed by the Mumbai suburban district collector, Nirmal Deshmukh.
“We are actively involved in the
whole process. We met the collector on the same day when the oil started reaching the beaches,” said Hansel D’ Souza, president of Juhu Citizens’ Welfare Group. “The authorities have allotted additional manpower and equipment to remove the thick layers of oil. Thanks to their efforts, a majority part of the beach is already clean.”
The collector has also appointed additional contractors for cleaning the beaches. “From Thursday, at least 20-25 workers will be put to work to help clean the beaches. The drive will continue for at least another week or till the time the beaches are cleaned,” said Deshmukh.
However, tar balls and traces of oil were found out at Marve beach, which was already cleaned by the civic authorities. “Small quantity of oil and tar balls were noticed on Wednesday, which we have cleaned,” said Vijay Balamwar, P-north ward officer, adding that there was no cause for worry.
Raigad District collector and magistrate HK Jawale has issued notices to MV Rak shipping company under section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code stating that the ship was a nuisance in this area and its environment.
“We have sent emails to four companies — Delta Shipping Marine Services, Saquer Logistics, Quaral Technical Services and Interport services,” said Jawale.
Jawale said while the oil spill had reduced, they clean up drive in coordination with gram panchayat authorities was underway.