Experts say oil spill to impact marine life, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan rules out any problem

NEW DELHI: Ruling out any cause of concern over the oil spill from a sunk cargo vessel off the Mumbai coast, union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Monday said that her ministry is "constantly monitoring" the situation.

"At this point of time, we do not see a cause for concern," she said. But experts fear oil spill's adverse impact on the marine life. According to them, the timing could not have been more unfortunate as it is the mangrove-seeding period.

There is apprehension that an oil and coal spill could kill the seeds and adversely affect mangrove regeneration. Freighter MV Rak sank off the Mumbai coast four days ago leaking oil. The oil has reached the beaches and water near the city's shoreline. An advisory has been issued asking fishermen to suspend all fishing operations till August 15.

Environmentalists say the worry is about the negative impact of the oil slick that has already reached the coast. The Maharashtra State pollution Control Board is collecting samples. The team has confirmed oil presence on the Juhu beach.

"The marine biota, including flora and fauna, will certainly have negative consequences due to oil spill. The coastal areas of Mumbai and some areas of Raigad have threats of oil slicks. The oil is evident on Juhu beach."

"It is very unfortunate that the oil slick is evident at the peak time of fish breeding as well as flowering and fruiting season of most of the mangrove species. Even the thin layer of oil persisting for significant time will kill marine fauna," said Swapna Prabhu, a systematic botanist and taxonomist at Bombay Natural History Society.

"This is not a one off incident. Since it is a recurring problem, it is time that a system were put in place to prevent these incidents," said Chandra Bhushan of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment .