Staff Reporter :
Ignoring the devastating impact on ecology following an oil disaster in the Sundarbans, the Shipping Ministry is showing more interest about smooth operation of Mongla Port for giving riverine transit facilities to others.
This attitude was clear when Shipping Minister Shahajahan Khan has categorically ruled out the suggestion of an inter-ministerial meeting to impose permanent ban on plying vessels through Shela River in the Sundarbans.
“The government has no plan to impose a permanent ban on the plying of riverine vessels through Shela River,” Shahjahan Khan, who is widely blamed for mismanagement in the shipping sector, said in a press conference at Secretariat on Sunday.
Khan made this statement just few hours after the inter-ministerial meeting gave suggestion to permanently stop plying vessels in wake of oil spill
spreading about 80 square kilometer of the Sundarbands following an oil tanker capsize.
Earlier, Abdullah Al Islam Jacob, Deputy Minister for Environment and Forest, after the inter-ministerial committee’s meeting, said that the government has asked the Shipping Ministry to ban plying of any vessels through the Shela river route. “Another committee will also be formed for the supervision of the overall progress of the clean-up of the Sundarbans,” Jacob said.
Not only that, the Shipping Minister also protested the prevailing temporary ban on the use of Shela River route.
“This temporary ban is causing problems in the flow of commodities to Chittagong Port. The Shela River route is an alternative channel to connect the Chittagong Port when the Mongla-Ghasikhali route was closed in 2004 for dredging,” he said.
“If Shela route is permanently closed, the vessels have to cross around 100 kilometres. We are trying to speed up dredging and bring back its navigability as soon as possible,” the Minister noted.
There are widespread allegations that a business farm owned by some powerful leaders of ruling party had got tender for dredging of Mongla-Ghasikhali riverine route in 2004 when it totally lost navigability.
But only 20 per cent work of the dredging so far has been completed though 10 years have gone in the meantime. Neither the Ministry of Shipping, nor the Ministry of Environment and Forest ever asked the business farm as to why it has been delaying the implementation of the project.
And interestingly, Minister Khan also did not utter a single word against the dredging farm for its delaying in his yesterday’s press briefing.
It is learnt that the owner of oil tanker company is a local ruling party leader and relative [nephew] of Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed. So, the owner managed to get permission for plying the sub-standard vessel using his influence.
Shahjahan Khan earned widespread criticism from different quarters when he said on Saturday that the oil spill in the Sundarbans “would harm the forest a little.”
Even Deputy Minister for Environment and Forest Abdullah Al Islam Jacob also protested sharply and said that the oil spill will obviously create a negative impact on the Sundarbans.
In this backdrop, the rare species of animals and other insects have started dying as authorities failed to clean up the oil spill in last six days. Corpses of several Sundarbans-based animals, including the dolphin, were found yesterday.
A body of an Irrawaddy dolphin was spotted in the Harintana-Tambulbunia channel of the Sela River about 25km from where the tanker capsized.
The Sela River is a sanctuary of two types of dolphins– highly sensitive and rare marine creatures. There are three dolphin sanctuaries – Chandpai, Dhangimari and Dudhmukhi – across 33km of the Sundarbans. Of them, Chandpai is the largest, covering 15km of the Sela River.
“Generally, dolphin corpses do not come to the water surface. The fact that one of them has floated to the surface should mean a number of dolphins have been directly affected. If large creatures such as dolphins could not survive, then smaller ones like otters and fish are in much bigger danger,” Monirul H Khan, professor of zoology at Jahangirnagar University, told media.
Zahhidul Kabir, Divisional Forest Officer of the Sundarbans, however, said that they have found only the bodies of some small fish and crabs.
Meanwhile, the body of master M Mokhlesur Rahman was recovered on Sunday morning after five days of ‘OT Southern Star 7’ capsize.
Local fishermen spotted the floating body at Badamtala area of the river around 6am and informed the Divisional Forest Office. Later, local people, fishermen and officials of the forest office rushed to the spot and recovered the body,” Manager Mohammad Gias of ‘OT Southern Star 7’ said.
The oil carrying vessel sank and its seven crews managed to swim ashore. But its master, M Mokhlesur Rahman, went missing after the accident.
The Forest Department have engaged 200 day-labourers with 100 boats to scoop the oil from the waters of the river and adjoining canals and Padma Oil Company, the owner of the oil, has collected 10,000 litres from locals. They are offering the public Tk30 per litre of recovered oil.
To encourage the locals, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation [BPC] has hiked buying price for the collected oil from Tk 30 to Tk 40 per litre for faster the clean-up operation.
On Tuesday morning, the OT Southern Star 7′, carrying some 3.57 lakh litres of furnace oil, sank in the river at Mrigmari under East Zone of the Sundarbans after being hit by a cargo vessel of the same company.
