Oil spill, response
The oil spill in Chennai’s Ennore-Manali area needs to be tackled on a ‘war-footing’. There is also a need to undertake remediation measures to treat the oil contaminated water in a scientific and safe way. Again, the authorities need to initiate measures for the restoration of the livelihood activities of fishermen.
R. Sampath,
Chennai
Approximately six years ago, in 2017 when BW Maple collided with Dawn Kanchipuram, the volume of the spill was estimated to be 37,000 cubic metres and by the estimate of the Indian Coast Guard, about 34,000 square metres of the ocean was affected. The Indian Coast Guard was quick to respond and the oil slick was contained. On December 4, there was the oil spill at CPCL-Chennai. The National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan clearly states that the Indian Coast Guard is the central coordinating authority, but even after 10 days we are yet to see any Indian Coast Guard presence in the vicinity of the oil spill. A statement says that 7,260 litres of the spill have been collected by fishermen. If this is the Indian response to a disaster, we shudder to think what the contingency response will be in the event of a quake near the nuclear facilities in the State of Tamil Nadu.
J. Ranjit,
Chennai
Kerala’s stand
The claim by the Kerala government, that the inconveniences caused to the devotees in Sabarimala, on December 6-7 were due to a sudden and sharp surge in footfalls has no takers. It is the bounden responsibility of an elected government to provide all the necessary facilities to pilgrims visiting the shrine, from various pockets of the country. The shrine is visited by devotees only during a particular period in a year, unlike Tirupati or Palani, where such a surge is a daily routine. The blame game shows the government’s inability to handle such a rush even for a limited period. The authorities should create all infrastructure facilities for pilgrims to have a stress-free darshan. However, social media exploitation of the situation by vested interests is to be discouraged.
V.S. Kannan,
Chennai
