Blame game on as oil refuse pollutes flamingo haven……..Nitya Kaushik
Creek Woes : BPCL says Mahul jetty has been cleansed; conservationists maintain contamination of marine life is irreversible
Creek Woes : BPCL says Mahul jetty has been cleansed; conservationists maintain contamination of marine life is irreversible
Just at the time of the year when thousands of migratory flamingoes congregate at Mumbais Mahul creek, a black sludge of oil waste allegedly released by public sector unit Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has polluted the jetty and chased out marine life, according to local fishermen.
The oil and petrol waste were released over the long Christmas weekend, they alleged.
On Tuesday, Debi Goenka of the Conservation Action Trust said he would write to the state environment department and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to take note of this polluting practice by refineries, and impose stringent regulations for oil waste disposal.
Meanwhile, a BPCL official explained their process: Our Mumbai refinery utilises sea water for its cooling process. However, for the past 15 years, the refinery has switched over from sea cooling to re-circulating system, thereby reducing the sea water requirement by 80 per cent. However, over the years, the quality of sea water itself has deteriorated with presence of foreign matters like plastic, shells, silt, etc. To improve its quality in our refinery, we de-silt cooling water base, after which the wet silt is dried in pits.
During this process of de-silting, some oil traces mixed with the silt appear to have leaked into the outside water channel. This outside water channel has been by cleansed of the oil traces by a vacuum truck (or sucking) system. There is no further leakage or spillage in the area, the official said.
Fishermen argue that a more permanent solution is needed to the problem. Vaman Koli, a fisherman, said, About 100-150 fishermen fish in this creek. We catch mudskipper, crab and shell fish from the shore and these small catches comprise our daily meals. Surely, the fish cant be cleansed and we are forced to eat them even when they are contaminated.
Koli, who said the oil was being continuously expelled into the jetty between December 25 and 28, also informed Stalin Dayanand, a representative of CAT who visited the spot several times. Dayanand said, The spot where the oil waste was being spilled out resembled a black nullah. Several migratory birds visit the creek during winter and they have all been put at risk. Usually flamingoes settled very close to the jetty, however, since the police are not allowing entry into the creek we are unable to see the extent to which the birds have been affected.
The CAT has collected samples of water from the spot and promises to have the samples analysed in a credible laboratory. Right now, about 1,500 flamingoes have arrived at the creek. If they feed on fish and algae that have been coated with the oil, it could be poisonous for their delicate digestive system. Human beings also eat the same fish, Dayanand said.
Senior police inspector of RCF Police station Shirish Shelke, however, maintained that the BPCL officials had ensured that the fishermen would not be affected.