Rewind: Cops, mangrove cell take ?baby steps? to fast-track response to beaching

IN the middle of 2015 a blue whale washed up on Alibaug?s beachfront and it became the first case of live stranding ? a trespass the state?s coastal machinery had not anticipated or even ?imagined?. It would take over ten hours to rescue the 40-feet, 20-tonne mammal. However by the time the mammal?s body touched water, she was dead. ?That is when we realised we weren?t prepared,? recalls N Vasudevan, chief conservator of forests, mangrove cell. ?Not at all.?
Last week, on the night of January 28, a photographer saw what he thought was a large visual disturbance on the horizon of Juhu beach, like ?a huge block of thermocol?. In half an hour, calls were placed and the state machinery was put on alert. The waves had washed up a dead whale on the city?s western seabed.
This time a new lesson was learnt. There was a complete breakdown of law and order and officials were absolutely helpless in controlling the army of selfie sticks that made the ?operation? difficult. ?The autopsy too had to be canceled. The problem that remains is we have not arrived at a procedure to determine the cause of death,? points Vasudevan. ?Mumbai proved to be difficult. It turned into a curious event.?The police machinery is updating their role as first responders to such natural trespass and the mangrove cell too has fast-tracked its response mechanism. Soon after the Alibaug episode, the mangrove cell had started working with Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. Its first step was to come up with a protocol manual, assigning specific role to different agencies on situation-based response. The manual is the outcome of specialised lectures by experts from the marine world who have linked causes and collective global responses to such mammal adventures. For instance, at least now, it is understood that in case of live beaching, rescue personnel have to employ a technique to maintain moisture levels of the mammal?s body and ensure that they are not in direct line of the mammal?s blow holes as breathing during distress emits bacteria which can be harmful. ?There is also a method to tie the ropes. Cranes cannot be used as their ribs are very loose,? points Vasudevan. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/rewind-cops-mangrove-cell-take-baby-steps-to-fast-track-response-to-beaching/#sthash.oPIsuTE6.dpuf
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/rewind-cops-mangrove-cell-take-baby-steps-to-fast-track-response-to-beaching/#sthash.oPIsuTE6.dpuf
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