After heavy rains, Chennai's beaches have been throwing back garbage onto the shores. (Photo by Aswin DS)
Thanks to heavy rains over the past few days in Chennai, tonnes of garbage including plastic, thermocol and rubber can be seen at Elliot's Beach.
The recent floods washed away tonnes of waste from the streets to the rivers which carried them to the sea, only to be thrown back onto the shores.
While activists want the garbage removed, the heavy rains in Chennai during last one month, also led to mixing of sewage water into the sea, which has turned black and filthy.
Conservationists say heaps of garbage would damage flippers of Olive Ridleys that would approach the shores in a few weeks for nesting.
"When there is garbage, you get fungal infection. The entire nest gets spoiled. Also, there is a species of blind ants that breed in garbage. They just decimate the nest," said Akila Balu, coordinator of the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network.
Nithyanand Jayaram, an environmentalist, said "These plastics break into smaller pieces that are ingested by marine animals. In fact, more plastics are in ocean than planktons. When it goes into the fish and when we eat the fish, we too get doses of that poison".
People say the floods have exposed how reckless disposal of garbage is destroying the fragile eco system and marine life in Chennai. They call it a wake up call for Chennaiites, adding it could be too late for damage control.