DoE Clearance

Ship-breakers continue strike

16 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Ctg

The strike that ship breakers called here demanding clearance certificates from the Department of Environment (DoE) continued for third consecutive day yesterday. They suspended production and supply of scrap iron at ship-breaking yards along Sitakunda coast in Chittagong. The strike was enforced on Friday, two days after a High Court order asking the ship breakers to obtain DoE clearance certificate before dismantling scrap vessels. The HC order came upon a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA). Bangladesh Ship Breakers' Association (BSBA) leaders said 88 ship-breaking yards so far applied for DoE certificate but no one got it yet. They demanded DoE certificates to run the ship-breaking yards and permission to scrap 43 vessels. Acting Director of DoE, Chittagong Mostafizur Rahman Akhand, however, said only 50 yards applied for the certificate until December 31, 2009, the deadline set by the authorities but most of them failed to provide documents required for DoE certificate. Only eight of them submitted necessary documents and their clearance certificates were under consideration, said the DoE official. The DoE, Chittagong filed cases against four ship-breaking yards on April 21 and against three others on May 02 for not replying to the notices they were served with for running the yards without environmental certificates, and causing massive pollution.