Chennai: Amid clean-up works by multiple agencies, environmental experts have expressed worry over the oil spill in the sea and said the government should act fast to minimise the damage. For the past four days, Coast Guard personnel, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and Chennai Port officials have been taking stringent measures to clear the oil spill across the city’s coast.

“This is the season of the Olive Ridley turtle breeding and it is during this part of the year the reptilia visit the east coast of the country for hatching eggs. And now, the entire cycle has collapsed due to the sudden man-made interruption in the environment,” says an official from the State Forest Department who goes for turtle walks regularly to track and identify nests of the Ridleys.

The oil spill due to the collision of two cargo ships at the entry point of Kamarajar Port, Ennore, spilled up 100 tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), commonly known as bunker oil, on to the surface of the sea. As a result, the coast of the city extending from Ennore to Thiruvanmiyur has been posing a threat to the environment, feel ecological experts.

Raghunanthan, one of the turtle walk volunteers said, “The oil spill has been turning the situation of the turtles worse day by day as they could not even reach the shore with full life.” It is said that many turtles have been found dead along the shore. “So far we have found over 20 turtles dead in all three beaches in total and we’re still counting,” he added. When asked how the turtles reached their fatal climax, he said, “When reaching the shore, they might get this crude blocking the inhalation and exhalation paths, which leads to death.”

“The immediate impact on the biota is immense and long-lasting. Already 21 Olive Ridley turtles have washed ashore dead and many species of marine organisms are under great threat. The ill effects on the organisms are long-lasting and multi-fold,” said a report from CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai.

“Urgent action must be taken to contain further spread of the oil slick and to remove the spilled oil. The present ecological catastrophe highlights a lack of emergency response and plan by the agencies concerned. Further delay may lead to unimaginable loss to the ecology and deprivation of livelihood for many people,” the report added.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has requested TNPCB to activate the oil spill crisis management group.