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OIL SPILL in SUNDARBANS

Livelihood at stake

A severe blow to fishermen

Pinaki Roy
There used to be an abundance of fish, crabs and shrimps in the Shela river. Dolphins, otters and crocodiles were also spotted there quite often.
But it's all gone. Not even a kingfisher is now seen on the riverbank, said Shahid Hawlader, who lives at Joymuni in theSundarbans.
"People living by the Shela and Pasur rivers depend entirely on the forest for their livelihood. If this situation persists, the inhabitants here will find it hard to survive," he said.
Shahid usually fishes during this season. But yesterday morning he was collecting oil from the muddy water near the bank of the Shela.
"Plenty of small fish and fry have died ... If fish become scarce in the area, livelihood of hundreds of fishermen will be at stake. Besides, all the animals that depend on fish will suffer badly," said Shahid while collecting oil that spread over the area after a tanker sank in the Shela a week ago.
This correspondent talked to dozens of fishermen while travelling more than 100 kilometres through the Pasur and Shela up to Sarankhola area in the last two days.
All the fishermen shared the same anxiety and fear.
"We caught three catfish and two Parshe fish in Andharernama and Aruar canals since morning," said Abdul Haque, who was fishing in Andharernama canal.
"We used to get plenty of fish here before the oil tanker sank,” he said.
No wild animals - dead or alive -were seen on any side of the Shela from Joymuni up to 40 kilometres.
Only a few fishermen were found fishing in the river, whereas they usually fish in the Shela in big numbers or catch crabs in the canals in this season.
Many of them had been busy collecting oil from riverbanks and roots of mangrove trees since the government decided to engage locals in the cleanup.
Locals feared the oil spill would leave a long-term impact on the livelihood of the forest dwellers in the eastern Sundarbans.
"I fear the mangrove trees will not
blossom this season unlike in the past. It means that bees wouldn't make much honey this time," said 56-year-old Tuku Sheikh, who was born in Joymuni.
It wouldn't be possible to measure immediately the scale of disaster that befell the forest, he said.
"The impacts will be visible after quite sometime. New plants wouldn't grow in the forest, as seeds and roots over a vast area have already been damaged," said Tuku.
This correspondent found traces of furnace oil on grass and plants on both sides of the river up to 60 km from Joymuni.
More than 40 km off Joymuni, two crocodiles were seen resting near Andharer Bak canal in Andharmanik area. Three wild boars and two monkeys were spotted nearTambulbunia.
Dolphins, fish as well as animals have probably migrated from the affected area to other parts of the Sundarbans, according to forest officials and local fishermen.
"In the past, we used to spot one or two dolphins in this area. But now we see more than a dozen dolphins near Hariner Bharani canal," said an employee at Harintana Forest Outpost.
On the way to Harintana, there are five to six spots where deer used to huddle up to drink water. But not even a single deer could be seen at any of the spots in the last two days.