Chennai: Over the past few weeks, particularly during weekends, morning walkers and local fishermen at Marina have been noticing frothing of the estuary near Napier’s bridge, where Cooum river drains into Marina.
There have been many instances when bubbles have formed at the Adyar river mouth in the recent past but this phenomenon is new to Marina, admit local fisherfolk sharing pictures with Deccan Chronicle.
Beach goers and ecologists have urged Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to investigate, as the beach sand along coastline at times turns black and or dark red due to nutrition depletion. The coast off Ennore and Marina are heavily influenced by sewage and industrial pollution and this phenomenon of frothing is a clear case of heavy chemical pollution, said industrial safety consultant S. Thirugnanam, of Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.
If bubbles are of single colour it could be of less toxic with more detergent. And if the froth prolong for several hours without disintegration then it could be harmful algal blooms (HAB) and there is an immediate need for water sample tests within 24 hours of sample collection.
There are 34 parameters that have to be studied as a basic, while monitoring coastal water. Tests can be performed with TN Water Supply and Sewage board, TNPCB or at high tech labs available with institutions like IIT Madras, he said warning that if the issue is not addressed soon beach sand may lose its nutrients and marine life replicating the fate of Cooum and Adyar rivers.
“I have worked in Gulf countries for more than a decade and they take oil spills, algae blooms, ecotoxicology in fish catch, shoreline management seriously. In our country these topics are hardly discussed by state and central pollution boards,” he said.
Not only Marina, the entire coastline has been turned in to a dump yard and the situation is worse between Thiruvottiyur and Ennore coast and the local fishermen from Kasimedu fishing harbour are traveling at least 30 per cent extra in search of fishes, said Nanjil P. Ravi, spokesperson, National Union of Fishermen.
Any acute pollution in Marina will have its impact on neighboring Kasimedu fishing harbour as the beach sand drifts from one coast to another and vice versa, he added. When contacted a senior official at TN Pollution Control Board said no complaints and or any water samples have been received in this regard so far.
There were complaints of chemical pollution from Ennore coast, but Mariana is comparatively a safe zone as big industries, tanneries and naptha plants have been moved out of Chennai city limits.
“If there are specific water samples and complaints we will look in to the issue,” the official said. “The 2014 national report by the National Institute of Ocean Management confirmed that there is no systematic assessment of the coastal and marine biodiversity along Northern Indian Ocean,” said a marine biologist with state fisheries department.
