தமிழ்ப் புனைகதைகளில் கடல் மாசுபாடு / Marine Pollution as Portrayed in Tamil Fiction

Abstract

The world's largest ecosystem is the ocean. 97.2% of Earth's total water is found in oceans. Global warming, which is increasing day by day due to the arrogance, and selfishness of man, does not only affect the human race; It also shortens the lifespan of animals; It also leads to the extinction of various species. It also underlies the impact on the marine environment. So, the sea resource decreases and the marine populations suffer. Novels and short stories point out these effects and tend to create awareness among people. This article is based on the two novels 'Selukedu' and 'Kadal Adi' written by Kurumbani C. Berlin and the short story 'Silambu Chellappa' by A. Muthulingam. These fictions claim that human activities are the primary cause of ocean pollution. Chemical plants, dye houses, nuclear power plants and desalination plants located in coastal areas discharge their wastes into the sea and the marine environment is greatly affected by them. Apart from that, the Indian government has allowed thousands of foreign ships to fish. The gillnets used by them are killing the fish and destroying the coral reefs. The shipowners who want to get huge compensation from insurance companies deliberately crash them on the rocks in the sea and the oil leaking from them pollutes the sea. 'Selugedu' novel explains such news. The novel 'Kadal Adi' highlights the fact that the sea waves come far during storms and destroy the fishermen's residences due to the sand robbery by the dominance on the beach every day and the plight of many people who lived in the area fell prey to cancer due to the radiation emitted while digging the soil on the beach. Plastics used by humans often end up in the ocean. Plastic bags have become a part of human life. The short story 'Silambu Chellappa' gives awareness that sea turtles and fishes who eat them as squid when they glisten in the sunlight are perishing.

Keywords

• marine pollution
• marine environment
• tamil fiction
• tamil short story.