Indian beaches are covered with white foam due to pollution

People discovered Marina Beach, Chennai, smelled pungent and appeared foamy at the weekend.

"Heavy rains in recent days have caused the Adyar River to rise, mixed with phosphate-containing stagnant waste . This stream of water and sewage has been dumped into the sea. Combined with strong seas, the coast is submerged. "We have collected samples and are analyzing , " said Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).

This stream of sewage and untreated waste flows into the sea.Combined with strong seas, the coast is flooded with foam.

The same phenomenon happened in Mumbai during the previous storm and in the area near Lake Bellandur, Bengaluru. Some pharmaceutical companies dump untreated waste into the Cooum river. This is one of the causes for this phenomenon.

Fishermen are advised not to go to sea due to heavy rain. Meanwhile, local sellers fear the business is affected. Sponge makes customers afraid of fish quality and do not dare to buy. However, many children still go to the beach to play without knowing the dangers from the sponge.

Waste treatment plants (STP) are only capable of treating a certain amount of water. During the rainy season, the plant must contain a large amount of water, so it is not efficient to operate. Untreated or partially treated sewage still flows into the river.

Environmentalist Pooja Kumar said this was not new to Chennai and the city needed to take preventive measures. " We have to make sure that STP can handle the plentiful amount of water during the rainy season, and we need to identify and prevent untreated sewage from flowing into the river. The NPC does not seem to be taking any action , " she said.

Marine creatures will also be affected, Kumar said."Years ago, tons of fish died when the foam came out. This happens frequently in urban areas because of the huge amount of untreated sewage. On other coasts like Mahabalipuram or further south, bubbling almost does not happen, " she said.