CM Kajawl :After the capsize of yet another vessel carrying 300 tonnes of chemical fertilizer in a river running through the Sundarbans, experts reiterated their opposition to the sailing of water vessels through the world’s greatest mangrove forest. The cruising of water vessels causes serious harm to the Sundarbans, which shields the coastal areas and the people from tidal waves and hurricane, experts said. “The UNESCO has declared the Sundarbans as a world heritage site. It (the Sundarbans) is also the source of revenue for a large number of people, but it has been facing serious threat due to mindless human activities, Professor Dr Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, a teacher of Environmental Science of Khulna University, said on Friday. Talking to The New Nation, he said frequent accidents of water vessels in the Sundarban areas spread toxic chemicals in the river water and impact the forests. “The government should immediately stop the movements of water vessels, especially oil tankers. The transportation of oil, coal, ash, cement and other chemicals should not be done through the Sundarban rivers. If any accident happens with the chemical-laden vessels, it would seriously damage the environment and ecology. The flora and fauna and the aquatic lives would be dangerously affected,” he said. Apart from the accident, the sound and light of the water vessels also have harmful effect on the animals and plants of the Sundarbans, Harun Chowdhury said. Regarding the alternatives, he said the government should make navigable the Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel and Atharabeki river (also called Modhumoti channel) to avoid the vessels’ movements through the Sundarbans. “The Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel was active even in 2011. The dredging is going on to revive its navigability, but the progress of work is very slow. On the other hand, no government initiative is seen to restore the Atharabeki river to navigation,” he said, “If the two routes are in right shape, the vessels need not to sail through the forest.” Dr MA Matin, General Secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan, said “The Sundarbans protect us from various natural calamities. We also have to protect it for our own interest,” he said. He also demanded a ‘Code of Conduct’, saying, “The Sundarbans is the place of different endangered species. It is our pride. We have to follow some rules and relevant international laws to protect it.” The Council Member of Waterkeeper Alliance Sharif Jamil said, if the government wants, it can open the Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel to avoid cruising through the Sundarbans. He also emphasized on the removal of Chingri Ghers (shrimp enclosures) from the channels connecting the Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel. “A group of influential people set up enclosures in different channels, causing the death of water bodies including Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel. The chingri ghers must be removed to keep the alternative water bodies navigable and avoid the sailing of vessels through the forests,” he said. An oil tanker carrying 3,57,668 litres of furnace oil, sank in the river ‘Shela’ inside the Sundarban areas on December 9 last year. “The incidents of oil spill in Shela caused huge damage to the environment. If such incidents take place and we cannot take measure against anti-environmental elements, we’ll have to pay high price for that,” he noted.The water vessel ‘MV Jabal-e Nur’ sank with 300 tonnes of chemical fertilizer in the Mora Bhola area of Sharankhola range in Sundarban area on May 5. AHM Farhaduzzaman, an engineer of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said the Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel had been opened for the vessels on a experimental basis. “Initially, the seven-feet deep vessels are permitted to sail through the channel. The route was closed for five years due to siltation. We started re-excavating in an area of 22 kilometers in the Mongla-Ghashiakhali channel last year. So far, we have completed 47 percent of our works. We are trying to complete it by the end of next month,” he said. Once the channel is open, the cruising of all kinds of water vessels through the river Shela would be stopped,” he added.
