BNP probe faults govt \\\'apathy\\\' for Sundarbans oil spill

The BNP investigations have faulted the government for the oil spill in Sundarbans, home to endangered Royal Bengal Tigers and rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.
Its panel of experts has made several recommendations to tackle the spill's long-term effect. An oil tanker, shipping over 350,000 litres of furnace oil, sank in Shela River in Sundarbans on Dec 9 after being hit by a cargo vessel.The accident spot is near a dolphin sanctuary and experts fear the impact on the flora and fauna could be catastrophic as tidal flows have spread the oil across rivers and canals deep inside the Sundarbans.
At a press conference Friday, former water resources minister M Hafiz Uddin Ahmed shared their findings with the media. OT Southern Star-7, once used to transport sand and stones, was transformed to an oil tanker, he said. "It had no fitness certificate and was deployed to illegally ship oil using the illegal route. "The government’s inactivity is unforgivable," Ahmed said, according oa news agency.