A Great Egret with stains of oil on its white feathers trying to fly on the bank of the Shela river in the Sundarbans. Southern Star-7 went down in the river with over 3.58 lakh litres of furnace oil damaging the eco-sensitive area on December 9. Photo Courtesy: Monirul H Khan A government committee probing the Sundarbans oil spill has recommended a permanent halt to the operation of cargo vessels
through the Shela river in the mangrove forest, said one of its members yesterday. It also suggested conducting periodic studies to assess long-term impact of the oil spill from the December 9 sinking of a tanker in the river, he added, wishing not to be named. “The probe committee didn't find very severe immediate impact of the accident. But we have recommended conducting a continuous close monitoring as the forest is very sensitive.” Additional Secretary Nurul Karim, who leads the seven-member committee, said they had finalised the probe report. Now it requires signatures of some members who live in Khulna. He declined to say anything more about the report. The committee comprising environment and mangrove experts and government officials was formed immediately after the Southern Star-7 sank having been hit by a cargo vessel. Talking to some members of the committee, The Daily Star learnt that a quarter has been trying to persuade the probe body to recommend allowing operation of cargo vessels through the river until the original route, Mongla-Ghoshiakhali channel, is completely dredged up. Advertisement With the navigability of Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel lost, vessels had been using the Shela river route for over a decade ignoring objections from the forest department. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) started dredging the original route to restore the navigability only after Southern Star-7 sank with around 3.58 lakh litres of furnace oil. Anticipating a disaster like this, environmentalists had been expressing concerns about operating commercial vessels inside the Sundarbans since the beginning. However, following the accident, the authorities have banned movement of all vessels through the Shela until further notice. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners' Association demanded the government reopens the Shela river route as there is no alternative route right now. “The government stopped operation through the Shela river route. But it didn't open any alternative route. We won't use the Shela River route if there is another route,” Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, president of the association, at a press conference yesterday. He claimed over 200 water vessels are waiting at both sides of the Shela river and said workers might call nationwide strike if plying of water vessels on the route does not resume. Meanwhile, Dr Manirul H Khan, a Zoology professor of Jahangirnagar University and wildlife expert, said he noticed significant changes in the wildlife in that area following the oil spill. “I have noticed birds, like kingfisher, that depend on fish have reduced significantly while other birds, like kite, that live on carcasses have increased in that area.” It indicates the number of fish has gone down while animals of the forest might have died due to oil spillage, he added. Manirul, who spotted a dead otter on Saturday, said, earlier he used to see a good number of monkeys in the forest along the Shela. But this time he didn't find any. Today, an 18-member team of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is supposed to head for the Sundarbans in the morning. In coordination with the government, the team is going to visit the Sundarbans to assess the situation and to find out next course of actions in the affected area. JS BODY RECOMMENDATION A parliamentary body at a meeting yesterday recommended that the government realise compensation from the importer concerned for the damage caused by the tanker accident. The parliamentary standing committee on the power, energy and mineral resources ministry asked Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation to realise compensation from the company that imported furnace oil and carried it on a faulty tanker through the sensitive area of the Sundarbans. The tanker was taking the oil to Gopalganj from the Padma Oil depot in Khulna. “The oil importer concerned cannot deny their responsibility for the incident. The tanker which was carrying the huge amount of oil was a faulty one and had no necessary papers from the authorities concerned for plying the river,” ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader, a member of the committee, told The Daily Star after the meeting. The committee asked the power and energy ministry to assess the loss and realise the compensation accordingly, added Hawlader, an MP of Jatiya Party. State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid Bipu and committee members Abu Jahir and Nasima Ferdaus, among others, were present at the meeting.
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