No efforts yet to salvage sunken ship
Ten days have gone but nobody seems to be in a hurry to recover MV Aichgati, which went down in the Pasur near the Sundarbans with 1,000 tonnes of coal.
An environmentalist said leaving the ship there for so long would harm the mangrove forest in the long run.
Officials concerned said if it was not recovered, silt would pile up over the vessel and it could reduce navigability at the estuary of the Pasur.
Sources said the capsized lighter vessel was old and most of its equipment was outdated. The goods and the vessel were insured and probably that's why the owner is not too keen on recovering the vessel.
Vessel owner Gazi Golam Faruq, however, refuted the allegation. “We've discussed with a company in Chittagong for recovering the vessel. It'll take some time,” he told The Daily Star.
Md Waliullah, harbour master of Mongla Port, said, “The channel is now safe. But silt accumulation over the vessel could result in the blockage of the channel.”
“We've instructed the owner to recover it by a specific time. If he fails, the authorities will recover it and consider the ship as their own property,” he said.
However, the Mongla Port Authorities have no rescue ship. It depends on Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) in such cases.
In the last three years, many coal- and fertiliser-laden vessels have capsized in the channel of the Pasur and forest areas of the Sundarbans.
MV Jabale Nur went down with 1,235 tonnes of coal on March 19, 2016, in the Shela river. MV Ziaraj sank near Chilla area with 510 tonnes of coal on October 27, 2015.
In recent years, cement clinker laden vessel MV Sea Horse had gone down near Harbaria area of the Pusur, MV Diamond of Narisha sank with 1,000 tonnes of coal near Fultala area of the Bhairab river, and MV Tungipara capsized with 800 tonnes of clinker in the Rupsha.
Sharif Jamil, joint secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa), said during high tide, the water would carry toxic and heavy metal pollutants to the Sundarbans from the capsized vessel at the estuary of the Pasur.
“Coal inside the vessel along with the fuel and other waste will be highly damaging to the sensitive plant species and insects. It will impact the food chain and damage the Sundarbans. It may not be visible overnight but the long-term impact is an obvious outcome of such an accident,” he told The Daily Star from London yesterday.
This accident and government's indifference again deepens the concerns over the construction of the Rampal Power Plant and management of this global heritage, observed Jamil, also a council board Member of Waterkeeper Alliance.
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