Two additional sea cleaning agencies have joined efforts to recover oil from in and around the Ennore Creek on Saturday. The machinery deployed for oil extraction from the sea has been reinforced, according to a statement issued by the State government after a meeting convened by Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu.
A high-level coordination meeting was convened at the Oil Spill Management Coordination Centre by Ms. Sahu who reviewed the works. The impacted area has now been categorised into four stretches for the purpose of intensive review and mitigation. Each stretch will be taken care of by a dedicated team aimed at completing the process of mitigation in a couple of days. A total of 110 boats along with a workforce of 615 individuals were on site involved in the oil mitigation work.
The machinery deployed for oil extraction from the sea has been reinforced. The current fleet includes five gully suckers, 11 JCBs, 13 tippers, five poclains, one hydra crane, four skimmers, two tractor trailers and four pick-up trucks. Moreover, to enhance effectiveness, four jet washers, two flushing pumps, and two hydro jets have been integrated into the recovery operations as of today. Further, oil recovery measures, soil and shore clean-up was carried out in the villages of Mugathuvara kuppam, Ennore kuppam, Nettukuppam and Kattukuppam.
Meanwhile, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited in a statement said that additional containment booms of 350 metres length have been deployed in addition to the four layers of booms already placed at creek area. A total of 182 trained personnel have been pressed into service. Mechanised cleaning efforts have helped clean two out of five fishing hamlets. It is being ensured that all workmen involved in the clean up activities are using requisite personal protective equipment.
House cleaning activities using hydro jetting machines are in progress. Wet and dry vacuum machines have also been deployed today to expedite the work, said the release.
