All waste on board vessels being dumped into sea at Chennai port

The Chennai Port authorities have already been pulled up by the Madras High Court in 2011 and directed to shift all coal and iron ore cargo handling to Ennore port as it has failed to resolve the air pollution issues. The apex court has now asked the Chennai Port Trust (CPT) to submit an affidavit with technical details for pollution-free handling of coal and iron ore cargo. 

“When the entire focus was on air pollution caused by coal and iron ore cargo, as it is economically important for CPT, plastic waste management never gained attention. Sea water pollution goes on unchecked at the Chennai port and it is going to have far-reaching consequences,” a CPT official said on request of anonymity told Dt Next. The attitude of people towards disposal of plastic waste has to change. 

“Recently when the Indian Coast Guard took us for witnessing a joint exercise with Japan Coast Guard, I asked for a place to discard a mineral water bottle to one of the Coast Guard personnel on board. He simply asked me to throw it into the sea. I was taken aback by his response. If a responsible government person has such an irresponsible attitude, you can imagine what others would be doing,” a senior journalist quipped. 

At any point of time, there are around 20 ships berthed at Chennai port apart from the Coast Guard vessels . Port officials say that plastic bottles, polythene covers and other plastic waste material are casually thrown into the sea. 

However, no specific study has been conducted to find the amount of plastic dumped in sea at Chennai port. Some studies appearing in the Indian Journal of Science and Technology, have traced the high levels of pollution along Chennai Coast to discharge of untreated sewage, industrial effluents and  discharge of chemical components by the vessels.