Tar balls — dark-coloured sticky balls of oil — had been as soon as once more present in massive portions on Juhu seashore Tuesday morning. This comes after they had been discovered strewn on Cuffe Parade Monday morning. The Dadar seashore has additionally been affected by the menace, prompting the fishermen from these areas to lift complaints with the authorities.
Deposit of tar alongside Juhu seashore, which began in June this yr, has been affecting the seashore for the final three months.
Devendra Tandel, president of Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti, who alerted the civic physique of the tar balls on Cuffe Parade, mentioned, “Throughout monsoon, fishermen from Palghar in Vasai complained of oil deposits on the shore. Nonetheless, this yr, it was seen at Cuffe Parade as properly. Because of the ongoing Ganpati competition, the authorities responded to our complaints instantly.”
After the onset of monsoon, residents and environmentalists repeatedly witnessed the deposits reaching even Chimbai and Vasai shorelines. Deposits are repeatedly discovered on Juhu and Versova seashores situated within the western suburbs of town.
Whereas tar deposits alongside Juhu seashore throughout excessive tides are frequent through the monsoon, consultants mentioned the quantity was unusually big and widespread this yr.
After the Maharashtra Air pollution Management Board (MPCB) was alerted about a lot of tar balls, it collected samples of the deposits from the Juhu seashore earlier this month. The samples shall be examined for pollution.
To lift consciousness and get authorities to note the environmental downside, the director of Coastal Conservation Basis, Shaunak Modi, who has been documenting the tar ball occurrences since 2018 at Juhu seashore, has appealed to the individuals to doc the prevalence throughout the Mumbai Metropolitan Area.