Sagar Biswas :
The inquiry committee, which was formed after sinking of a cargo vessel carrying 510-tonne coal in the Pashur River near the Sundarbans on Tuesday night, has found ‘negligence and irresponsibility’ of its master pilot as the reasons behind the accident.
“The carelessness and irresponsibility of Bulu Gazi, master pilot of MV GR Raj, had prompted the accident of the coal-laden ship at Pashur Channel near Mongla adjacent to the Sundarbans,” said an investigation report of the committee.
The head of three-member inquiry committee, Assistant Forest Preserver Md Belayet Hossain, submitted the report to Divisional Forest Officer Md Saidul Islam on Friday.
Recommending shutting movement of cargo vessel in the shallow waterways beside the Sundarbans to avoid further damage on the mangrove forest, the inquiry committee also asked the Mongla Port Authority to ‘immediately salvage’ the sunken vessel. At the same time, the investigators also questioned about the ‘capability’ of the cargo ship terming it ‘old’ and questioned whether it was capable of carrying a load.
The report also said, ‘The movement of other vessels through the Pashur channel is now almost risk-free, as it was sunken outside the main channel. But it is urgent to impose restriction on plying of vessels through the narrow waterways to avoid fatal accidents in the future.’
‘We’ve ordered owner of the vessel Dil Khan to remove the sunken ship. We’ve also warned him of filing legal steps for delaying in salvage operation,’ Gazi Motiar Rahman, a member of the investigation team, said. Although Vessel owner Dil Khan earlier had said that a private agency will be assigned to salvage work on Thursday, it could not start the operation till the time of filing of this report yesterday evening.
The Department of Forest already has filed Tk 5 crore compensation suit against the vessel’s owner and its master for damage of ecology of the Sundarbans, which is a home to the endangered Royal Bengal Tigers as well as home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.
Police also arrested master Bulu Kazi after the case was filed with Mongla Police Station by Chandpai station’s forester Mizanur Rahman.
Official sources said that the shipwreck site has been covered with a tent to prevent the coal [imported from Indonesia] from spreading in a bid to save ecological disaster in the Sundarbans, which is recognised as a world heritage site since 1997. ‘The coal is wrapped with tarpaulin to stop its spreading,’ said Matiur Rahman Qazi, Chandpai Range Officer of Department of Forest.
It was learnt that the accident occurred as the keel of the Khulna-bound ship from Mongla, MV GR Raj, got fractured when the crew members were trying to release the ship after it was stuck in a shoal around 9:00pm on October 27.
After the accident, the local people rescued 10 crew members of the vessel from the river in a Trawler, according to the police. Meanwhile, the movement of cargo vessels through the shallow waterways inside the Sundarbans still remains unabated due to indifferent mood of the government high-ups. An oil tanker named Southern Star carrying 3.58 lakh litres of furnace oil sank in Shella river near Mongla with spilling oil over a vast area on December 10, 2014. It had created a severe impact on the aquatic animals and fishes of the Sundarbans. The reason behind the accident was collision with a cargo vessel. The oil had spread over a 350 km area. The oil spread to a second river and a network of canals in Sundarbans, which blackened the shoreline. The spill threatened trees, plankton, and vast populations of small fish and dolphins. The spill occurred at a protected mangrove area, which is haven for rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.
Concerned circle raised voice against the plying of vessels through the Sundarbans. The United Nations also had expressed its concern over the accident. But the plying of cargo vessels was not stopped.
