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Oil Spill Response

BNP deplores govt inaction

Staff Correspondent
The BNP probe body on the oil spill in the Sundarbans yesterday blamed the government for not taking immediate measures to remove the oil which threatens the ecological balance of the world's largest mangrove forest.
"The government's inaction to initiate immediate measures to remove the spilled oil is taking a heavy toll on the trees and plants, fishes and the biodiversity of the Sundarbans," said BNP Vice-Chairman Hafiz Uddin Ahmed who headed the seven-member probe team. The forest department has filed a case claiming Ik 100 crore as compensation but the real loss will amount nearly to Tk 500 crore, he said while briefing reporters about the probe committee's findings at the BNP Chairperson's political office in the capital’s Gulshan.
The probe body visited the affected areas of the Sundarbans from December 22 for a week to assess the environmental threats likely to be caused by the disaster.
Referring to the contradictory statements made by the forest department and the shipping ministry, Hafiz said it
became obvious that the government did not have a well coordinated approach to reduce the risks of this disaster. He also criticised the prime minister for her delayed response to the crisis.
"Surprisingly, the prime minister didn't immediately respond to such a big disaster. It took her six days to ask the Khulna divisional commissioner to take action," the BNP leader said.
Even so, no effective measures were taken by the authorities to remove the oil or protect the forest's biodiversity, Hafiz lamented.
Referring to local people's efforts to
remove oil, he said the government made a mistake by not deploying Bangladesh Coast Guards or Bangladesh Navy personnel to do the job.
Hafiz, a former water resources minister, claimed that the tanker which usually carried sand and stones was carrying oil illegally through the Shela river.
A ruling party minister's relative was the owner of the tanker that did not have a fitness certificate, he alleged.
He also demanded arrest and maximum punishment of those responsible for the accident.
The probe committee came up with a
few recommendations to protect the Sundarbans.
The recommendations included permanently banning movement of all vessels through the Sundarbans, opening the Ghasiakhali-Mongla channel immediately, revoking all plans to build thermal power plants, shipbreaking industry etc. within 25km of the forest.
BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Khulna City Corporation Mayor Maniruzzaman Moni, BNP leader Nazrul Islam Manju, among others, were present at the briefing.