NCC cadets clean up oil spill off in Mumbai

MUMBAI - The National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets conducted a clean-up operation on the mangroves, which were all but destroyed due to the recent oil spill off the coast of Mumbai.

Around 300 cadets on Saturday tried to clean up the mangroves off the coast of Mumbai’s Colaba Point.

“We have brought about 300 cadets for doing the clean ship operations at the Colaba Point. You can see the ship, which has got grounded, and this area - whatever mangroves which are there, they all have become black, and 60 percent of the mangroves got damaged,” said Sumeshwar, the Captain of the ship operation.

He said that though the cleanup on the surface of the sea is over, the coasts are still damaged.

However, NCC cadets said that it is not easy to clean the mangroves, as they are very sticky.

“Eight hundred tones of oil have spilled here, so obviously, we are facing lots of problems. The operation is on and we are trying to clean it up completely,” said Kunal Pratab Singh, a cadet.

It may be recalled that two Panamanian ships, the MSC Chitra and the MV Khalija-III collided five nautical miles off the Mumbai Port on August 7. All crewmembers were rescued.

One ship, which was carrying a cargo of diesel and lubricant oil, capsized triggering an oil slick that spread to a distance of two nautical miles. Many containers fell into the sea after the ship tilted dangerously.

The vessel was carrying 2,662 tonnes of heavy oil in its various tanks and 245 tonnes of diesel oil.

Experts said that toxic fumigants resulting from the spill pose a lethal threat to the fragile ecosystems thriving in the area. (ANI)