When Cyclone Michaung brought heavy rainfall to Chennai on December 4, residents of Manali and Ennore — industrial areas in the northern part of the city — faced another, far more vicious, or viscous problem. In the days that followed, we learnt that thick, dark oil deposits from guard ponds and storm-water drain ponds of the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) in Manali washed out with the floodwater, entered homes, Buckingham Canal, and, eventually, Ennore Creek.
After visuals of residents and flood relief volunteers wading through the sludge went viral on social media, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) inspected the site on December 7 and declared that “traces of oil” were found mainly on the banks of the canal. The mellow response was subsequently questioned by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), following which the State Oil Spill Crisis Management Group, headed by the Chief Secretary, surveyed the area and concluded that the oil from CPCL adversely impacted the livelihoods of the fishing community in the area. The impact has been categorised into four stretches.
The CPCL, initially denying reports of the spillage originating from its premises, started remediation works with a few gully suckers and boomers. It did not quantify the amount of oil-grease waste that reached the river and canal. As of Friday, 46.8 tonnes of oil waste, containing approximately 15 tonnes of oil, had been removed from the river.
