CS Monitors Work on Clearing Oil Spill

Chennai: Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena presided over a meeting of the State Oil Crisis Management Group on Wednesday to review the mitigation work carried out at the Ennore Creek and the villages affected by the oil spill from the public sector CPCL premises in Manali.

Senior government officials and CPCL authorities also attended the meeting, which was informed that the mitigation work was in full swing in the area and that oil boomers had been put in place  to contain the spread of oil.

‘An Oil skimmer machine was pressed into service today to extract oil from the creek. Four more oil skimmers are planned to be deployed in the next two days. In order to speed up the mitigation work, 75 boats and 300 personnel have been pressed into service. These boats are involved in the suction of oil from the surface and transporting it safely to the shore,’ an official press release on Wednesday said.

Four gully sucker machines had been deployed to suck the oil from the water  surface and the work regarding the cleaning of oil soaked debris from nearby villages was being done with JCBs and other equipment.

‘CPCL has been directed to further ramp up the mitigation work  by deployment of more number of oil boomers, skimmers and trained manpower. In order to take care of the health of people located in nearby villages, the Health department has set up mobile camps with specialized doctors,’ the release said.

The Department of Animal Husbandry had organized a special camp for treatment of impacted stray and pet animals in nearby villages and teams from the Forest Department, TNPCB and Department of Environment had been positioned on the ground to  monitor the work.

CPCL had been categorically told to ensure that protective gear and safety equipment were  provided to the teams engaged in the work and the Oil Crisis Management Group directed the  Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation and Director of Fisheries to undertake a  comprehensive review of the impacted families and submit the list to the Relief Commissioner, the release said.