Oil spill in the Sundarbans

SADLY, this is the third vessel to sink in the Sundarbans this year. The latest incident of an oil tanker sinking and resulting in spillage of 358,000 litres of furnace oil is a major environmental disaster in the making. No remedial measures have been taken to contain the spill; this is so because no effective countermeasure exists since the forest department lacks logistics to deal with such a situation. What is even more abhorrent is that although it is illegal to operate vessels through protected forests, in reality, hundreds of such vessels have been navigating the Shela River since 2011 when Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Agency (BIWTA) lifted the ban.

Now that the vessel has sunk and oil spilled across a 20 km area, precisely what is to be done is the challenge. Unless measures are taken now, biodiversity in the area is set to suffer severely. The afflicted area will adversely affect marine and wildlife of the mangrove forest if not contained. We are informed that with the rise in tide, the oil will spread to other parts of the channel. Given that the Sundarbans is a world heritage site and home to many unique species of plant and animal life, it is time to enlist the help of the navy which is purported to have in its stocks chemical agents to scoop up oil spills. In the longer run, authorities need to undertake dredging of Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel to restore its navigability and ban all heavy marine vessels from using the Sundarbans water channels.