Oil fields also under scanner
The department of environment has formed a special team to investigate into the mysterious oil spill that has lined the coastal areas of South Gujarat.
"A committee has been formed consisting of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), National Institute of Oceanography, Coast Guard officials and Gujarat forest and environment department to look into the matter and the report should be out in 4-5 days. Besides, ISRO has been asked to submit a satellite report, while GMB and Gujarat Pollution Control Board have been asked to clean the beaches falling in the latitudes between Navsari and Tithal immediately. The waste is not found to be toxic now as it contains oxygen pores. While the residue is based out of oil, it cannot be said whether it is burnt oil or compressed oil because it has been floating on the water since a week now. We are also investigating and taking into consideration all the pipelines located in the area," SK Nanda, principal secretary, state forests and environment, said.
The samples collected have been sent to the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun.
The mysterious oil spill that has swept across South Gujarat has even reached Vasai in Maharashtra. Coast guard officials have carried out surveillance and found streaks of pollution lining the beaches in South Gujarat. When contacted, coast guard officials at Mumbai said, "There has been deposits of pungent smelling chemicals on the coastal areas close to Navsari and Daman. We fear this could be the result of some discharge by a culprit vessel or caused due to pollution from industries near Navsari."
Even as authorities are scrambling for answers to hunt down the source of the oil spillage on the beaches of South Gujarat, the mysterious spill may be linked to the various oil fields located on the west coast.
According to port officials, who requested anonymity, "There is foul smell of the toxic hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which is present in crude oil, emanates from the beaches affected with these chemicals. This may also be an indication that it is an industrial leak, which may have washed to the shores of South Gujarat. Usually when there is a minor leak, many oil companies do not bother to get it checked, as a result of which, industry and tourism suffers. The ministry should investigate and compensate for the loss to the state government of Gujarat, the fishermen, the tourism department of Daman and Navsari and the residents on the affected coastal area, as it may not be as minor an issue as is being reported by authorities. People should fight for compensation."
The stink of the chemical lumps washed ashore has become unbearable for the residents near the coastal area spread across Navsari, Daman, Valsad, Tithal, Umargam and Umarsadi beaches. Fishing activity has completely stopped at all these places due to the huge chunks of chemical residue found all over the beaches. Fishermen in Navsari district were the first to alert about the oil spillage when they noticed that a large number of fishes had died.
There has been panic in the area because the sand covering the area has turned black in colour and the event has been viewed as a threat to marine life by activists. Tourism also suffered a setback last weekend because of the stench emanating from the beaches.
