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Aiming to control oil spill within two days: TN govt
Following heavy rainfall and inundation due to cyclone Michaung in the state, oil spills were noticed in the creek area-the Buckingham canal, affecting local people and fishermen for the last 13 days
The Tamil Nadu government hopes to bring the oil spill in Ennore under control in the next two days, officials familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Following heavy rainfall and inundation due to cyclone Michaung in the state, oil spills were noticed in the creek area-the Buckingham canal, affecting local people and fishermen for the last 13 days. The spill originated from the north Chennai area, where the CPCL’s refinery is located.
The next hearing of this case in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is scheduled for Monday. The impacted area has now been categorised into four stretches for mitigation and review. “Each stretch will be taken care of by a dedicated team with the objective to complete the process of mitigation by 18 - 19 December,” the state government has said. IIT-Madras is undertaking a study to estimate the quantity of oil mixed with the water.
To intensify the ongoing recovery operations, Sea Care services and Viraj Sea cleaning agencies from Mumbai, have been joined by Vens Hydra lifts Private Limited and Neowin India Limited. As many as 110 boats along, 615 man power are on site involved in the oil mitigation work.
The machinery deployed comprises five gully suckers, 11 earthmovers, 13 tippers, five poclains, one hydra crane, four skimmers, two tractor trailers and four pick-up trucks. A day ago, the state also introduced four jet washers, two flushing pumps, and two hydro jets for recovery operations.
A committee has been formed by various departments of the state government, representatives of the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) from where the oil is said to have leaked and those affected such as the local community and fishermen. The oil which has spread into people’s homes is also being cleaned such as in Mugathuvara kuppam, Ennore kuppam, Nettukuppam and Kattukuppam.
So far more than 276 Barrels containing 48.6 tonnes of oil waste have been collected containing approximately 15 tonnes of oil, a government official said.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has concluded that due to the inadequate storm water management and storm water storage ponds, there is clear evidence that the oil has leaked from CPCL into the Buckingham Canal reaching the Ennore Creek. This is reported to have happened on December 4 when cyclone Michaung struck Chennai bringing torrential rains and submerging the city. Besides which, the board had last week submitted to the NGT that an industry Toshiba-JSW was found to have not properly handled the waste oil which could have also caused discharge into the Buckingham Canal and they are under investigation.
