Versova and Mahim creeks 'most polluted'

Mumbai: Mumbai's Versova and Mahim Creeks are the most degraded water bodies in Maharashtra due to untreated industrial effluents and sewage, according to a coastal water monitoring body.

Though the open shore from one to five kilometres is unpolluted, there have been constant complaints of coastal water pollution at the 18 prominent estuaries and creeks along the state's 720-km long coastline.

Bassein and Thane, north of Mumbai, and Ratnagiri in the south are moderately degraded and Murud and Dhabol also receive industrial and domestic waste water effluents. These were the findings of the decade-old programme called Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System (COMAPS) which now comes under the Department of Earth Sciences, Government of India.

Heavy toxic metals

Marine life and fish being killed by the industrial effluents as well as accidental discharge by ships is becoming more and more common. Reports on the presence of heavy toxic metals in coastal water reveal not only human health will be affected but even beaches would be ruined.

Therefore, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has launched a coastal monitoring survey in collaboration with the National Institute of Oceanography during the pre-monsoon period starting this month as well as another post-monsoon study in October 2007.

Collaboration

The collaboration would not only entail a coastal survey but also training of MPCB personnel in specific areas of marine pollution assessment and then decide the future course of action to improve the health of coastal Maharashtra.

The study would also include inshore water bodies like Ulhas, Patalganga, Savitri as well as Dahanu and Tarapur creeks.

The Ulhas estuary and Thane Creek will come in for close scrutiny due to the high levels of mercury in their sediments following effluents from industries in the past.

Use of mercury in their manufacturing process has been discontinued by these industries, said a MPCB officer, but nevertheless the study will show whether mercury is getting transferred to the plant and animal life here.