Oil spill in Karnaphuli River
Urgently contain toxicity
The spill over of about 100,000 litres of furnace oil into the Karnaphuli River on July 30 and subsequent lack of action are bound to play havoc with the aquatic life. We have learnt from railway sources that the service has had to carry eight tanks of oil to Dohazari power plant to deal with increased demand for electricity during the month of Ramadan. Though the accident happened last Tuesday, it appears that the railway authorities are more concerned with salvaging the derailed cars rather than arresting the spill that occurred at Boalkhali three days ago.
Needless to say, such a line of thinking is going to do little to contain the ecological disaster facing marine life in the river. While there is every possibility of destruction of zooplankton and phytoplankton that form the food chain of fish, the continued presence of such high volumes of oil in the water will spell disaster for fish stocks unless recovery efforts are undertaken immediately.
The obvious overloading of railway carriages coupled with lack of proper maintenance of railway tracks smacks of typical behaviour of state-owned services. That said, the idea of salvage operations taking precedence over what is bound to turn into a biodiversity calamity for fish stocks in Karnaphuli speaks volumes of ignorance and bureaucratic mindset of authorities. We strongly urge the Department of Environment and other concerned bodies to take steps to stop further damage to the river and prevent any further adverse effect on biodiversity in surrounding areas.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments