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DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Sunday, December 14, 2014
(Left) The Dhaka-Chittagong highway experiences an unprecedented traffic tailback yesterday due to a rally organised by local BNP. (right) Passengers had to get down off buses and walk with their baggages and children as the traffic comes to a standstill MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU/ SYED LATIF HOSSAIN
India on alert after Sunderbans oil spill n Tribune Report
Environmental authorities in India are on alert after thousands of litres of oil spilled into a nature reserve in neighbouring Bangladesh. Conservation chief Pradeep Vyas said “precautions” were being taken in West Bengal’s coastal region, reports BBC. Oil leaked into waterways in the Sundarbans area after a collision involving a tanker three days ago. Officials say it is already harming the region’s wildlife, which includes two endangered dolphin species. “We are taking all precautionary measures,” Mr Vyas, additional director of India’s Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, told Reuters on Friday. Footage shows Bangladeshi villagers scooping oil from rivers using pots and pans and sponges, and birds covered in black liquid in the Sundarbans mangrove forest in south-west Bangladesh. The oil spilled after a tanker carrying 350,000 litres (77,000 gallons) collided with another vessel, spreading a sheen across 60km of waterways. The Sunderbans is a Unesco heritage site, home to many rare species. The oil leaked into the river at a sanctuary for rare dolphins. Environmentalists have expressed concern that the impact on wildlife could be
disastrous. But government officials say they still cannot give an assessment of the likely damage. The UN on Thursday called for a complete ban on all commercial vessels using the waterways of the Sunderbans. The Bangladeshi navy initially sent four ships to deal with the spill, and planned to use chemicals to disperse the oil. But it was unclear whether the chemicals could be used, amid fears they could cause further damage. “This catastrophe is unprecedented in the Sundarbans and we don’t know how to tackle this,” Amir Hosain, chief forest official of the Sundarbans, told AFP news agency. “We’re worried about its long-term impact, because it happened in a fragile and sensitive mangrove ecosystem.” The tanker was reportedly on its way to deliver the oil to a power plant in Gopalganj when it was struck by another vessel. The Sunderbans, is a vast river delta on the northern shore of the Bay of Bengal. Its mangroves and rivers are home to a vast array of plant and animal life, much of it unique to the region. The government declared areas in the southern Sunderbans to be a dolphin sanctuary in 2011, after research suggested some 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins lived in the area. l
Khaleda: We will not wait any longer PAGE 1 COLUMN 6
presence replied “Yes” loudly raising their hands. “Bravo, bravo,” said an impressed Khaleda. On the government’s sending a joint secretary on forced retirement for “holding a meeting with her,” Khaleda said the government had politicised the administration and that meritorious and brilliant officers were removed from positions based on “false allegations.” Regarding the arrest of a woman in connection with the Bardhaman blast in West Bengal, the former premier claimed that the arrestee had been in-
nocent. “It was reported [in media] that the woman was hatching conspiracy to kill [Prime Minister Sheikh] Hasina. “There is no need of it. The more days she is alive, the more hatred she will be inviting...An innocent woman was arrested. It is a stage-managed drama. It is also said [executed JMB chief] Shayakh Abdur Rahman’s wife trained her; then why has Rahman’s wife not been arrested?” During her speech, Khaleda castigated the prime minister several times on different issues. She alleged that Hasina did not love the country as all of her family members live abroad. She also
BD signs deal with CERN n UNB Bangladesh has moved one major step closer towards the advanced science and technology, particularly in the field of research of quantum and fundamental physics, by signing an ‘International Cooperation Agreement’ with CERN in Geneva. Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative in Geneva M Shameem Ahsan signed the instrument of cooperation on behalf of Bangladesh with Director General of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) Dr Rolf Heuer on Friday. The CERN Director General remembered his recent successful visit to Bangladesh and praised the efforts of Bangladesh government for taking the benefits of science and technology to
the doorstep of people. He assured CERN support in this regard and hoped the teachers, students and researchers of Bangladesh would be immensely benefited from this formal cooperation. For the countries like Bangladesh, CERN provides a unique opportunity for the much-needed technology transfer, education and training for researchers, scholars, academics and students. Bangladesh will be greatly benefited from this cooperation with CERN, especially the universities, institutes, organisations, academics, professionals, said a Foreign Ministry media release. CERN will conduct a high-level short school on advanced particle and quantum physics at the Dhaka University from December 15 to 18. l
First dead dolphin spotted PAGE 1 COLUMN 4
coastal tides, spread over at least an 80km range of the mangrove forest. The authorities have two options to remove the oil from the water – by using chemical dispersants or oil-consuming bacteria. But they could not be sure about the environmental impact of the first option and the second had to be imported. As a result, no effective measures have so far been taken to remove the oil. Instead, local people have been encouraged to manually collect the oil from the water. Brian D Smith and Rubaiyat Mansur, experts at the Wildlife Conservation Society, said: “Chemical dispersants should not be used without consulting international experts with oil spill ex-
perience in mangrove forests. Dispersants are typically used in oceanic waters to prevent the slick from reaching the shore.” The immediate toxic effect on terrestrial and aquatic wildlife can lead to death or reduced reproductive fitness. Long-term effects may pose a risk to the aquatic ecology due to chronic exposure to oil toxins and fouling due to the retention of oil clumps in woody debris and vegetation and oil seeping into sediments through crab holes, they said. They predict the die-off of small mangrove trees near the waterline in the next few months and larger trees in the next few years or longer especially if trees become re-exposed to oil seeping out of sediments, UNB reported.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia addressing a 20-party alliance public meeting held at the Kanchpur Balur Math in Narayanganj yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
The impacts on the larger ecology of the mangrove system as small and large trees die-off, will be soil erosion and excessive sediments deposited into small and large channels. Potential toxic impacts to local human communities are likely from exposure to oil during clean-up operations or by consuming fish exposed to oil. “Short-term impacts of the oil spill will be severe as the habitat of the affected areas will be damaged. Animals and fish species will lose their breeding grounds,” former director of Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO) Engineer Inamul Haque told UNB.
The clean up
The disaster, the fall-out of which has so far proven to be overwhelming, ap-
pears to have shown that the authorities have neither the capacity nor the experience to tackle it. The Forest Department yesterday engaged 200 day-labourers with 100 boats to scoop the oil from the waters of the river and adjoining canals. As of yesterday afternoon, Padma Oil Company, the owner of the oil, had collected just 10,000 litres from locals cleaning up the massive oil spill. They are offering the public Tk30 per litre of recovered oil. Ecology and biodiversity researcher Pavel Partha, who is currently visiting the area, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “Engaging untrained locals in collecting the oil is also likely to turn out to be a boomerang. Along with oil, they are also collecting a lot of mud
questioned the role of the premier’s son as an adviser to the prime minister, for which he takes “more than Tk1.5 crore.” The BNP chief said the Sundarbans mangrove forest had been destroyed in a planned way. She also questioned why a sand-carrying vessel would transport fuel oil. “It was done in a planned way to destroy the forest and its resources,” she said. Apparently holding the government responsible for the oil spill incident, Khaleda said: “This regime is not only a man-eater but also Bangladesh-eater. It wants to gobble up Bangladesh to destroy its existence.” She alleged that the arrests in Narayanganj seven murders were “mere eyewash” as the masterminds were moving freely. “Why [top RAB official] was Col Zia not arrested? One was sacked for an alleged meeting with me. How does a killer like Zia still remain in the job?” Khaleda also labelled HM Ershad as a world famous shameless and “pet cat of Hasina.” She said Ershad was threatened with initiating proceedings in the Jamuna Tower and General Monzoor killing cases whenever he warned of resignation. The BNP chief said the farmers were not getting fair price for their products as the government had imported 0.5m tonnes of rice. Narayanganj district unit 20-party arranged the rally demanding election under a non-partisan interim government and protesting the incidents of “killing, enforced disappearance, abduction and the government’s repressive acts.” As the venue of the meeting was just adjacent to Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet highways, communication on the roads came to a halt as the party leaders, activists and supporters had occupied the highway. Many passengers were seen walking to their destinations. At the venue, balloons and posters were seen with portraits of BNP founder Gen Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda, her elder son Tarique Rahman and convicted war criminals of key BNP-ally Jamaat-e-Islami. A large banner on the sensational seven murders also drew attention of the audience. Narayanganj district unit BNP President Taimur Alam Khandkar chaired the programme. Khelafat Mojlish Chairman Mohammad Ishak offered a special prayer after Khaleda’s speech. l
from the river banks. This may harm the composition of the soil and end up harming the regeneration of the forest ecosystem.” The Dhaka Tribune journalists have also noticed many mud-skippers and marine birds such as the maasranga trapped in the furnace oil-contaminated mud. Zoology Professor Monirul also said: “A large number of dolphins may have migrated from the area by now. They probably suffered breathing problems because the contamination should have significantly lowered the level of dissolved oxygen in the water.” The route that the sunken tanker was following was off limits to large vessels because it is within the dolphin sanctuary. But because the al-
Martyred Intellectuals Day today PAGE 1 COLUMN 6
Starting on December 9 and building up murderous intensity by December 14, the occupation army and its local henchmen killed off as many intellectuals as they could. The remembrance of the martyred intellectuals this year is special, because some of their tormentors and murders have finally been brought to justice. The local death squads belonged to a group called al-Badr, which operated as an auxiliary of the Pakistan army. Islami Chhatra Sangha, later called Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a party termed a criminal organisation by the International Crimes Tribunal, provided the bulk of al-Badr’s recruits. On the nights of December 13 to 15, masked al-Badr men surveying the roads in microbuses, knocking at the doors of selected intellectuals and picking them up. In this way, teachers, littérateurs, journalists and professionals were picked up and taken to the Physical Training Institute in Mohammadpur where they were beaten up ruthlessly. Their eyes were gouged out and their bodies pierced with bayonets, and eventually met their deaths. After the Pakistani surrender, dumping grounds were discovered at Rayerbazar and at Mirpur, where the bodies of men and women were found dead among the bricks, mud and water, their hands tied and eyes blindfolded. This year’s observances are different because four of the masterminds behind the systematic killings – Motiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin and Syed Ashrafuzzaman – have been sentenced to death for the crimes by the war crimes tribunals. The verdicts are awaiting execution. The government and different socio-cultural organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe Martyred Intellectuals Day today. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay tribute to the martyred intellectuals by placing wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Mausoleum at Mirpur in the city at 8:05am and 8:15am respectively. Afterwards, the Liberation War Affairs minister, freedom fighters, family members of the martyred intellectuals and the public will pay their respects by placing wreaths at the mausoleum. l
lowed route had become unusable due to poor navigability three years ago, these vessels have been plying these waters. Researchers and environmentalists have long warned of the consequences of poor enforcement of rules and laws. Voicing concern over the oil tanker crash, UNDP Bangladesh Country Director Pauline Tamesis said the accident highlights the need for a complete ban on the movement of all commercial vessels through the Sundarbans, UNB reported yesterday. “Global experience shows that this kind of incident has long term environmental consequences and it requires coordinated multi-sectoral efforts to restore the affected areas,” she said. l