Spilled oil being removed from 30 cannels in Sundarbans

Five days into the capsize of an oil tanker in Shela River, the authorities on Saturday started removing the spilled oil from 30 cannels of the Sundarbans engaging 200 workers. Amir Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Sundarbans East Zone, said that as they did not get any clearance from the higher authorities about cleaning up the spilled oil using chemical dispersant, they have started to remove the oil manually from this (Saturday) morning to save the world’s largest mangrove forest and its natural resources. Over 200 workers along with 100 boats were engaged in removing the oil from 30 cannels of the Sundarbans manually, he said. According to Forest Department officials, the oil slick has already spread over some 80-100 square kilometre areas through the rivers and canals meandering across the mangrove forest and due to tidal waves, the slick has invaded a significant portion of the shores. Sights of birds and other wildlife are also becoming scantier in the area. The ‘OT Southern Star 7’, carrying over 0.35 million litres of furnace oil, sank in Shela River in Mrigmari in Chandpai Range under Sundarbans East Zone after being hit by a cargo vessel, ‘Total Cargo, at 5am on Tuesday, causing a serious threat to the biodiversity of the forest, according to a news agency.