While residents of Chennai and coastal districts in north Tamil Nadu still reel under the impact of Cyclone Michaung and the resultant flooding, the residents of Manali in the capital’s outskirts are suffering from a man-made disaster. Residents of Kanniyamman Pettai, a village located in the Manali Zone, have been experiencing breathing difficulties and skin allergies due to an oil leak from a private warehouse on December 4, the day Cyclone Michaung hit Chennai. A huge amount of oil stored at Sri Srinivasa Logistics on Kadapakkam Road leaked and got mixed with the flood water, which deposited it on roads, compound walls of houses, fields, as well as in the temple pond, which is used for household purposes.
When TNM visited Kanniyamman Pettai, an unpleasant smell hung over the area and the dark smears of the oil was visible in several places, even after the residents had managed to remove the oil from the walls using thinner and kerosene. Apart from making people sick, the oil spill also damaged cars and bikes and entered shops. Those who run small businesses on the affected roads suffered more after losing the materials they had stocked inside their shops.
Manikandan, a resident of Kanniyamman Kovil Street, one of the affected streets, said that the oil had spread to all the places, including the temple pond, which is also used as a water source for livestock. “Government officials have not taken any steps to address the issue, even though they made a few visits to the village to provide relief materials,” he said and urged the government to conduct medical camps at the earliest to help the residents facing health issues.
Nandini, a grocery shop owner, said that she had incurred a loss of Rs 20,000 as the oil had entered her shop and damaged the provisions. “It has been more than a week now but the warehouse owners are yet to meet the residents and announce any compensation for the loss that we have suffered,” she said.
Yamuna, another resident of the village, said that many of their motor pumps were damaged, so it was difficult to get drinking water, and highlighted that they depend largely on agriculture and animal husbandry. “The water entered the fields and has drained, but a tar-like liquid has got deposited on the soil. I don’t think the crops will survive under these harsh conditions,” she added.
When TNM reached out to Srinivasan, the proprietor of Sri Srinivasa Logistics, he admitted that it was the furnace oil stored in his warehouse that had leaked and damaged the houses and other properties in the village. He said that three containers of furnace oil had been stored at his warehouse by a private firm called Alpha Association for their business needs. Alpha Association has been using the warehouse to store oil for the last two years. “We stored the oil in containers as well as industrial drums. During the recent cyclone, the drums were damaged due to the heavy rains and some 5,000 litres of furnace oil leaked and got carried away in the floods and deposited on roads, walls, and other places in the village,” he said.
Srinivasan added that his team was working to restore the damaged walls and said that he was ready to give compensation to all who were affected due to the leakage.