Panaji: Goa MP Shantaram Naik has requested the Centre to send a team of experts to examine the surfacing of tar balls on several beaches in the coastal state.
Terming the phenomenon as a `nuisance`, Naik, in a letter to Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh, said a proper study needs to be conducted to decipher the exact cause behind the presence of black thick tar balls on the beaches.
The Rajya Sabha MP said immediate steps should be suggested to prevent the recurrence of the incident and a team should be sent to examine the causes.
A majority of beaches in Goa have began wearing thick coat after tar balls were washed to the shore. While damage to beaches in north Goa is lesser, shores in South Goa are
extensively defaced.
The state government has sought the help of experts from National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to examine tar balls so that their source could be traced.
Goa Environment minister Aleixo Sequeira has blamed a `rogue` ship for discharging oil mid sea which washed ashore.
Naik said tar balls have marred the beauty of South Goa coastline from Sernabatim to Betalbatim.
"The general impression is that this is an annual feature and that every year the tourism department has to clean the affected beaches," he said in his letter this week.
"Apparently the ships passing the sea off Goa coast are responsible it. They discharge their waste which either surfaces before being deposited in the sea bed or gets erupted
in monsoon due the act of nature," Naik said.
It also needs be examined whether captains of ships concerned can flout rules and cause damage to coast lines of countries they pass by, he added.
The Congress MP insisted that there must be an international convention to regulate such behaviour.
PTI
