The fishermen community from Dahanu to Cuffe Parade has noticed a decrease in fishing and has also witnessed over 40 Dolphins being washed ashore on the coasts of Mumbai, Vasai, Satpati, and Palghar.
The Akhil Maharashtra Macchimar Kriti Samiti (AMMKS) will be knocking the doors of National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) for allegedly affecting fishing and leading to the deaths of Dolphins due to a seismic survey. The ONGC is conducting the survey to find out oil reserves in the sea.
The fishermen community from Dahanu to Cuffe Parade has noticed a decrease in fishing and has also witnessed over 40 Dolphins being washed ashore on the coasts of Mumbai, Vasai, Satpati, and Palghar.
The seismic surveys are conducted to locate the offshore oil and gas reserves on the seabed. Sonic cannons are used to shoot compressed air on the sea bed and this creates sound waves that identify reserves of oil and gas.
The survey includes repeated explorations by conducting blasts in different areas for at least a month.
Damodar Tandel, President of AMMKS, said, “The seismic survey conducted by the ONGC is so loud that the fishes and Dolphins are being affected. More than 40 Dolphins have been washed ashore since the oil company started its survey.”
“We have seen a steady decline in the fish catch in the areas where the survey has been conducted by ONGC and we demand compensation of Rs 500 crore for fishermen across Maharashtra,” said Tandel.
Dileep Mathak,President of Koli Yuva Shakti Sanstha, said, “We have conducted a survey in which we have identified the affected fishermen. A detailed report will be submitted to the National Green Tribunal for further proceedings.”
Sanjay Koli, General Secretary for AMMKS, said, “We will be sending notices to nine government agencies, including ONGC asking them to stop the survey immediately and also to compensate for losses to 5,000 vessels run by 5,00,000 fishermen.”
“If fishes are exposed to such conditions, their sensory organs get affected,” said Dr Rishikesh Dalvi, Marine Biologist.
“A proper research should be conducted by the government to ascertain if the seismic survey is affecting fishing in the sea,” said Dalvi.
Pallab Bhattacharya, spokesperson from ONGC, Delhi, said, “We take all environmental and safety precautions with the state of the art technology used to conduct the survey. We make sure that the ecosystem is not affected during oil and gas explorations.”
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