NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Rediff Shopping

Shop & gift from thousands of products!   Books     Music       Apparel   Jewellery   Flowers   More..      Safe Shopping

Goa govt indifferent to oil spill clean up work

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panjim

A fortnight has passed and a bomb is still ticking right on the shore of Goa, the most favoured international tourist destination, in the form of a grounded ship from which oil continues to spill into the sea, though not as intensely as earlier.

"I know that the whole tourism industry is at stake due to the ship," says Chief Secretary Ashok Nath, who is also the state tourism secretary. However, he appears to be indifferent to the ongoing operation of removing oil from the grounded ship. No government agency is monitoring the clean up operations.

Even Nath does not know details of the operation, other than being informed that oil is being removed. He, however, does not know when the oil removal operation would be complete.

According to Nath, journalists can have a look at the spill but not take photographs since it would create panic among the tourists planning to visit Goa. However, media persons are prevented from going near the ship and Anil Salgaoncar, the owner of the ship, is not available for comment.

With Salgaoncar Shipping, owners of the 240-metre long ore carrier, not allowing the Coast Guard to be present on the ship, the official central co-ordinating authority has withdrawn from the scene. "We don't know what's going on in the ship," says Comdt V S R Murthy, commander of the Coast Guard.

Salgaoncar's claim that the ship does not contain more than 20 tonnes of oil has already been proved false with one tank itself containing more than 20 tonnes. Comdt Murthy claims that there are three more tanks of a similar kind containing high-speed diesel and fuel furnace oil.

The Coast Guard is the central co-ordinating authority to monitor instances of oil spills in Indian seas. Nath says it is wrong on the part of the owner not to allow them on board to monitor the clean-up operation. He plans to convene a joint meeting, next week, after the mercantile marine wing of the Ministry of Surface Transport arrives in Panjim from Bombay to discuss the situation.

The most unfortunate development, however, is that the Coast Guard has also removed the river booms they had put around the ship since they were not allowed to remain on the ship. It has led to the oil spilling out from the ruptured bottom of the ship.

"There is no work going on for the last two days," says S V Balaram, president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, who personally visited the Sinquerim-Calangute-Baga coast, which is considered to be the hub of Goa's beach tourism activities. The ship is grounded about 100 metres from the shore.

While oil removal is one issue being tackled in a most unorganised manner, the TTAG is equally worried about the owner's plan to break the huge ship right on the spot where it is grounded. "If it happens, it would simply prove disastrous for tourism in Goa, at least for one year," warns Kirit Maganlal, a travel agent.

The TTAG, on behalf of the hoteliers, shack owners, travel agents, transporters and all those dependent on the tourism trade, is planning to move to the court with a public interest litigation while simultaneously pursuing the matter with the state government.

Despite knowing that the spill could adversely affect the just-begun tourism season, state authorities appear to be indifferent to the ship owner's casual approach to tackling the problem.

EARLIER REPORTS
Ignoring oil spill may cost Goa dear
Ship owner to plug oil leak in Goa
Court moves in to prevent abuse of Goa coastline

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report