Ahmedabad, August 11: The sticky black substance found near the beaches of south Gujarat districts of Navasari and Valsad was a result of crude oil spill, state government officials said today.
“The chemical analysis of the lumps of black substance found off the coast of south Gujarat from Umbrath to Tithal confirmed that it was crude oil,” principal secretary, environment and forest, S K Nanda told PTI.
“Initially we thought that the substance was dumped by some ship in high sea. But our investigation confirmed that it was crude oil which might have spilled from either Bombay High in Maharashtra or from the drilling in Hazira region in Surat district,” he said.
Nanda said that a four member team consisting of representatives from his department, Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) are probing the source of oil spill.
“Presently, oil drilling in Haziara region of Surat is being done by three companies, Cairn, GSPC (Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation) and ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation)”, he said.
Nanda said that his officials will be inspecting the drilling sites of the companies and after that the report would be finalised.
—Agencies