Ctg train oil spill

Govt swings into action too late

Much damage has been caused to the environment by the spillage of furnace oil from a derailed train, as the authorities swung into action only yesterday, on June 21—some three days after the oil spill—complained green activists and environmentalists.
They alleged that the extent of damage could have been minimised if the authorities had responded immediately after the oil spill occurred on June 19 at Boalkhali upazila in Chittagong.
The authorities concerned, however, were engaged in a blame game over the accident and consequent oil spill. The managing director of Bangladesh Railways (east zone) Mozammel Haque said, “Salvage works are taking time as we do not have any experience in handling such situations.”
But Mokbul Hossain, the director (Chittagong zone) of the Department of Environment (DoE), asserted, “If the BR authorities had informed us about the oil spill on Friday itself, we could take early steps to tackle it.”
The mishap occurred when a freight train, carrying furnace oil from Chittagong, derailed at Boalkhali. The derailment occurred after a berth of Bridge No 24 near Dhalghat railway station broke down. Three of the train’s wagons plunged into the canal. Two of them sank into the canal. A third was partially submerged while a fourth one tilted sideways. A wagon usually contains 25,000 litres of oil, but the exact amount of spillage is yet to be determined. The train, which had seven wagons, was headed for the Dohazari power plant.
The authorities perfunctorily performed their duty by announcing yesterday that the BPC would buy the spilled furnace oil from locals at Tk 70 per litre. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has decided to buy the furnace oil from local people at Tk 70 per litre, announced Chittagong deputy commissioner Mesbah Uddin yesterday during a visit to the accident site at Kitabchar area.
However, the announcement did not elicit much response from the locals.  
“The announcement to buy spilt furnace oil from locals is just a joke, since all the furnace oil has gone away, has spread with the tide,” said Mohammad Alamgir, a local peasant.   
Yesterday, some three days after the accident, a floating oil-boom was installed on the waters of the Boalkhali canal with the technical support of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA). The oil-boom is part of a practice used in case of oil spills to remove floating furnace oil from the water. Earlier, on Saturday, a makeshift dam was built on the Boalkhali canal, which is linked to the Karnaphuli.
However, both local fishermen and farmers were unanimous that the spread of the spilled furnace oil could have been curbed to a much greater extent if the authorities had responded soon after the accident.
Locals reported that a thick layer of oil had been floating on the canal’s water and, soon after the accident, it had spread towards the Karnaphuli river.
The DoE officials also said that the furnace oil that spilled from three wagons of the freight train spread over a stretch of more than 20 km, posing a serious threat to aquatic life.
“The oil slick spread fast into farmland and water bodies on the day of the accident because of the tide in the canal. The Boalkhali canal is linked to the Karnaphuli river. The oil slick spread fast with the tide on the day of the accident,” said Abu Jakir, a local fisherman.
The railways’ acting secretary, Firoz Salauddin, the director general of Bangladesh Railways (BR), Md Amjad Hossain, the railways’ managing director (east zone) Mozammel Haque, and director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) Raisul Alam Mondal also visited the spot.
While talking to reporters at the accident site, DoE director general Raisul Alam Mondal said this was an accident, and they were working on ways to minimise the extent and impact of damage. “The slick is spreading rapidly into farmlands and water bodies.

 

Ctg train oil spill

Govt swings into action too late

Much damage has been caused to the environment by the spillage of furnace oil from a derailed train, as the authorities swung into action only yesterday, on June 21some three days after the oil spillcomplained green activists and environmentalists. They alleged that the extent of damage could have been minimised if the authorities had responded immediately after the oil spill occurred on June 19 at Boalkhali upazila in Chittagong. The authorities concerned, however, were engaged in a blame game over the accident and consequent oil spill. The managing director of Bangladesh Railways (east zone) Mozammel Haque said, Salvage works are taking time as we do not have any experience in handling such situations. But Mokbul Hossain, the director (Chittagong zone) of the Department of Environment (DoE), asserted, If the BR authorities had informed us about the oil spill on Friday itself, we could take early steps to tackle it. The mishap occurred when a freight train, carrying furnace oil from Chittagong, derailed at Boalkhali. The derailment occurred after a berth of Bridge No 24 near Dhalghat railway station broke down. Three of the trains wagons plunged into the canal. Two of them sank into the canal. A third was partially submerged while a fourth one tilted sideways. A wagon usually contains 25,000 litres of oil, but the exact amount of spillage is yet to be determined. The train, which had seven wagons, was headed for the Dohazari power plant. The authorities perfunctorily performed their duty by announcing yesterday that the BPC would buy the spilled furnace oil from locals at Tk 70 per litre. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has decided to buy the furnace oil from local people at Tk 70 per litre, announced Chittagong deputy commissioner Mesbah Uddin yesterday during a visit to the accident site at Kitabchar area. However, the announcement did not elicit much response from the locals. The announcement to buy spilt furnace oil from locals is just a joke, since all the furnace oil has gone away, has spread with the tide, said Mohammad Alamgir, a local peasant. Yesterday, some three days after the accident, a floating oil-boom was installed on the waters of the Boalkhali canal with the technical support of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA). The oil-boom is part of a practice used in case of oil spills to remove floating furnace oil from the water. Earlier, on Saturday, a makeshift dam was built on the Boalkhali canal, which is linked to the Karnaphuli. However, both local fishermen and farmers were unanimous that the spread of the spilled furnace oil could have been curbed to a much greater extent if the authorities had responded soon after the accident. Locals reported that a thick layer of oil had been floating on the canals water and, soon after the accident, it had spread towards the Karnaphuli river. The DoE officials also said that the furnace oil that spilled from three wagons of the freight train spread over a stretch of more than 20 km, posing a serious threat to aquatic life. The oil slick spread fast into farmland and water bodies on the day of the accident because of the tide in the canal. The Boalkhali canal is linked to the Karnaphuli river. The oil slick spread fast with the tide on the day of the accident, said Abu Jakir, a local fisherman. The railways acting secretary, Firoz Salauddin, the director general of Bangladesh Railways (BR), Md Amjad Hossain, the railways managing director (east zone) Mozammel Haque, and director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) Raisul Alam Mondal also visited the spot. While talking to reporters at the accident site, DoE director general Raisul Alam Mondal said this was an accident, and they were working on ways to minimise the extent and impact of damage. The slick is spreading rapidly into farmlands and water bodies.