TERI offers help to clear the Mumbai coast of oil

The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), which holds the patent for the homemade cocktail of bacteria, ‘Oil Zapper,’ has offered to clean up the beaches in and around Mumbai that have been affected by the oil spill. Scientists from the New Delhi-based organisation say the technological innovation could be used to neutralise the effect of the widely spreading oil. The process, which uses bacteria to clean up the oil slick, is called bio-remediation. The Oil Zapper, in powder form, can be sprayed on contaminated shores. In a meeting with the TERI team, Coast Guard officers had said that the major concern was the onshore oil, which is under the jurisdiction of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). Sanjay Bhuskute, PRO, MPCB said the department would be more than willing to get help from TERI.
Dr Banwari Lal, director of TERI and inventor of the Oil Zapper says, “The decadeold Oil Zapper is a tried and tested technology and does not damage the environment. In case of the Mumbai oil spill, it can help contain environmental damage. It could take around a couple of months for the bacteria to eat up the oil and completely neutralise its effect from the sandy shores.’’
Meanwhile on Wednesday, two birds — a falcon and a duck —affected by the oil spill at Colaba were admitted to the Parel Veterinary Hospital. They were found exhausted, their wings soaked in oil. Environmentalists are a worried lot as more volumes of floating oil reach the shores of Navi Mumbai, Uran, Elephanta and Alibaug taluka.
A Biodiversity researcher at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, D Stalin said: “The oil spill situation along the Vashi coast has worsened today, as the entire shore filled with green mangroves are coated with black oil up to the height of nine feet.” He added the smaller mangroves will suffer and as their leaves are completely smeared with oil.
For now, the MPCB has asked district collectors from Raigad, Thane and Mumbai to use gunny bags to soak the oil. Teams have also been formed with fishermen to clean up the coast in and around Mumbai. Valsa Nair Singh, secretary, environment, said NCC and NSS students will be asked to volunteer for clean-up operations. Indian Oil Corporation has also offered to help, she added.