DC: Continuous monitoring needed to prevent oil spill

Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh has said that all precautionary measures should be taken to prevent oil spill into the sea.

Huge vessels with loads of goods arrive at New Mangalore Port, she reminded.

Speaking at a state-level annual pollution response seminar-cum-workshop organised at the Coast Guard headquarters at Panambur on Tuesday, the deputy commissioner said that there is a need for continuous monitoring to prevent an oil spill in mid-sea.

“The district administration, in association with various stakeholders, has effectively tackled flood and landslides following heavy rain recently. It will continuously initiate all precautionary measures to manage natural and man-made disasters in the future,” she said.

Lauding the service of the Coast Guard in protecting the coast, the officer said that the district administration will extend all help to the Coast Guard.

“There are incidents of boats and vessels capsizing in the sea due to technical glitches or due to natural calamity. There is a need for rules to effectively manage such incidents,” she said, adding, “Oil spill is the biggest disaster. There are several legislations related to oil spill issues, yet there is a lack of knowledge on it. In addition, due to lack of communication, several problems arise in case of emergency.”

Coast Guard Commander S S Dasila said, “The Coast Guard will be the nodal agency in case of an oil spilling incident. Such incidents are managed at three levels. The situation needs to be managed when the oil spill could not be prevented. A high-level preparatory meeting needs to be convened. The seminar will discuss in length on the issue.”

The commander said that the Dakshina Kannada district unit of the Coast Guard is functioning effectively.

“All the boats and Coast Guard vessels are intact. The Coast Guard is keeping a watch on the activities mid-sea. Colour coding for all the boats and traditional boats engaged in fishing is implemented in the district with the help of Fisheries department,” he added.

District Disaster Management Officer Vijaykumar spoke on ‘Oil Spill, Disaster Management’ book.

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board Officer Jayaprakash Nayak and others were present.