Staff Reporter :Although the capsize of the oil tanker in the Sundarbans’ river made huge loss for the world’s largest mangrove forest, the ministers, whose offices are closely linked with the Sundarbans, are still providing confusing statements about the oil spill and its environmental impacts.Alongside with the Shipping Ministry, the environmentalists have also expressed dissatisfaction over the role of the Environment and Forest Ministry, as the ministry has not taken any effective initiative till now to save the Sundarbans. Eleven days after the incident, Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju visited the spot on Friday for the first time. During the visit, he made statement echoing the same as Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan who are saying that the oil spill posed no major threat to the world’s largest mangrove forest. Anwar Hossain Manju said, “No major incident occurred in the Sundarbans. We were worried of a huge loss for the Sundarbans. But it did not occur. We will be able to recover the loss, whatever occurred, of the oil tanker capsize immediately.”He was talking to journalist after visiting the Shela River, reportedly the most affected area of the Shela river banks Sundarbans after the oil tanker capsized with 3.58 lakh litres of furnace oil. The tanker sank in the river on December 9. Shahjahan Khan, however, on Friday again said that the incident was not very big like such incidents in world history. Talking to the journalists at Madaripur circuit house, he said that they had not found any dead animal in the Sundarbans without snake. The media also can’t publish any image of animals without snake, he added. For days, the banks of the Shela River were drenched in black oil, including the trees. Some animals reportedly died after the incident.Expressing deep concerns, the experts and environmental activists have been saying that the incident will bring negative impacts for the ecology and biodiversity to the Sundarbans. They also expressed their annoyance over the negligence of the government in this regard.Syed Saiful Alam Shovan, an environmental activist, told The New Nation that the Environment and Forest Ministry can’t avert its responsibility for the huge loss in the Sundarnbans. The ministry could play important role following the incident. But it did not do it. The ministry’s negligence has been proved in the delayed visit of the minister, he added. He also said that ministers can’t provide such statements, as the oil spill was a massive environmental disaster for the biggest mangrove forest in the world.Meanwhile, a team from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) reached Dhaka to support the “cleanup efforts of the oil spill in the Sundarbans”. In response to a government request, UNDAC team arrived in on Thursday evening.After the arrival of the advance team, the additional team is expected to be here over the weekend. It will also conduct an assessment and advise the government on recovery and risk reduction measures.The experts and environmental activists have slammed authorities for failing to organise a proper clean-up effort of the oil spill. They alleged that the government had not taken any scientific steps in managing the oil spread in the Sundarbans and the effects of that would remain on the forest’s biodiversity.They also said the Forest Department had used local people to remove the spilled oil without considering their health hazards.
