The shadow of an ecological disaster loomed over Paradip on Monday after oil started leaking from a sunken Mongolian ship. Environmentalists said a part of the spill was moving towards the shore, posing a threat to the bio-diversity hotspot.
“The region is home to the world’s largest rookery of the endangered Olive Riddle turtles and a large number of marine species. An undetermined amount of oil has leaked into the water and this could lead to an incurable ecological disaster,” said Sudhanshu Parida, an environmentalist. “If the oil accumulates in the bottom sediments along the shore, Paradip may face its first environmental crisis.”
Paradip Port Trust (PPT) officials played down such fears. “There’s no immediate risk. It was a minor leak due to discharge of lubricants and other oils from the sunken ship. But the furnace and diesel tanks are intact. There should not be any worry of a disaster unless the ship splits in two, and we don’t see why this should happen,” said PPT deputy conservator G P Biswal. “Our oil recovery ships are equipped to deal with an oil spill and therefore there is no immediate risk to the ecology.”
Officials said the State Pollution Control Board was working with the Coast Guard and PPT to arrest the spill. An environment expert from the board, Dilip Kumar Behera, and other scientists are also at the scene. Coast Guard officials have also stepped up surveillance and are ready to spray dispersants on the spill.
times of india
yes that is a threat in a great deal of..
ReplyDeleteparadip port ned some quick action to prvent it....
yes that is a great threat of paradip cool climate.....paradip port need some quick action to prevent the threat which on our door.
ReplyDelete