Panaji: Goa government has sought the help of
ocean experts to study the phenomenon of tar balls surfacing
on its beaches while defence services have been asked to
furnish details of the vessels that crossed the sea off Goa
coast hours before the balls appeared.
Goa, which banks on its tourism on beaches, has seen
unprecedented surfacing of tar balls which touched almost
all the beaches in the state.
The worst affected stretch is around Colva beach in South
Goa.
State Environment Minister Aleixo Sequira said efforts
are on to trace the "rogue ship" which must have discharged
the oil mid-sea that has washed ashore.
The state government had last night held a high-level
meeting of officials from Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard,
National Institute of Oceanography, state pollution control
board, tourism department and district administration to
discuss the situation.
Sequeira said the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy have
been asked to give details of the ships that had crossed the
waters off Goa shore 72 hours before the tar balls surfaced.
The state's beaches began turning black since Monday
night and the tar balls are still hitting the shores.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 22:58