State counts clean-up cost,losses

To calculate the amount for compensating fishermen,to be sought from the insurers of the cargo ships that collided a week ago,the fisheries department has formed an expert group. The group would also take into account the long-term impact on marine life and decide whether the current ban on fishing,in force till Sunday,needs to be extended to specific areas or species of fish.

Secretary,Animal Husbandry,Dairy Development and Fisheries,Rajesh Aggarwal,said the group comprises fishery officials from Raigad and Mumbai and experts from central institutes like the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO).

The group would also consider the direct loss caused by the ban or that will be caused by extending it further,besides reduction of catch in future. They will take fish samples from the sea while the BMC will take samples from the markets to help calculate the compensation amount and possible extension of the ban,said Aggarwal. All state departments concerned will prepare compensation claims.

After a meeting with Health Minister Suresh Shetty and other senior officials,environment secretary Valsa Nair Singh said they would quantify the manhours put in for cleaning the slick for claiming compensation.

The NIO would study the impact on the marine ecosystem and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) would study the damage caused to the shoreline. The estimates would be clear in two weeks time,she added.

Nair Singh stated that the damage to mangroves would be assessed and compensation claimed. She added that a 25 to 30 kilometre stretch of mangroves on the shoreline had been affected by a thin layer of oil. However,50 per cent of this oil could be washed away after high tide.

She added that Mumbai city,Raigad and Thane were affected and added that a joint team comprising officials of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB),local bodies,district administration and the Coast Guard on Thursday surveyed areas where the spillage was high and where action to mitigate the impact was on.

She added there were reports of a thin layer of oil below the Vashi bridge affecting the mangroves,and similar reports of mangroves being affected at Uran and Elephanta.

There were reports of oil being seen on the Marine Drive promenade walls,said Nair Singh.