deaths of fishes, ducks in Hakaluki haor

‘Toxins behind disaster’

Experts don’t buy ‘rotten paddy’ story

Environmental experts have ruled out the possibility of rotten paddy causing the deaths of fish and ducks in the country’s biggest ‘haor’ (wetland), Hakaluki as they believe that either toxic metals flowed into the haor from the upstream or got mixed into it from local sources. Paddy often rots by remaining under floodwater for several days. It actually becomes food for aquatic lives instead of harming them, the experts pointed out. They fear that chemical contamination will spell disaster for aquatic lives and destroy the ecology of the haor.
“Aquatic lives, including fish, can survive between pH levels 6 and 8.5,” Mohammad Moniruzzaman, senior scientific officer of the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), told this correspondent. He was sure that the fish and other aquatic lives died because of some chemical.
“The authorities are confusing us by saying that the fish died because of a pH level of 8.5 in Hakaluki haor. It is not true that the contamination occurred due to rotten paddy,” Abdus Sobhan, former additional director-general of the Department of Environment (DoE), told The Independent yesterday.
Terming the situation as “an environmental disaster”, Sobhan, who is also general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA), said, “There have been massive floods in this area in the past. We have never seen fish and ducks dying because of rotten paddy.”
The government should find out the source of the chemical and the reason behind the deaths of ducks and aquatic creatures, he said.
“We have seen the presence of fish and other aquatic life in the Buriganga at Shyampur even at pH level 10,” the green activist added.
The government should immediately test the haor water, said Abdul Motin, general secretary, Bangladesh Paribesh Bachao Andolan (BAPA).
“There can be many causes for the deaths of fish and ducks in Hakaluki haor. There are open-pit mines in Assam and Meghalaya in India. Farmers use fertilisers and pesticides. So, conjecture will not help. The government should find out the reason immediately,” he said. There is definitely some toxic component in the water of Hakaluki haor, he believes.
“Our Sylhet office has collected the water, the rotten paddy, and the fish from Hakaluki haor for laboratory tests in Dhaka,” said Solaiman Haider, the director of DoE.
Hakaluki haor is an ecologically critical area, he said, adding, “The Fisheries Research Institute is working on the issue. We hope they will soon find out the real cause after testing the samples.” “I have never seen rotting paddy leading to fish deaths. It is quite shocking,” said a local fisherman. A five-member team from the botany department of Dhaka University, led by Prof. Dr Moniruzzaman, visited
some of the haors in Sunamganj to collect water samples. Talking to the reporters after the visit, Dr Moniruzzaman said the water of the Hakaluki haor is not in its normal condition. There is some toxic gas in the water, because of which fish and other aquatic animals are dying. “If a lot of water can be added to the haor, the water will return to normal. Heavy rain might flush out the toxins,” he said. However, he did not reply to question on whether the haor’s water was polluted due to the flow of hazardous materials from the uranium mine in India.
Moulvibazar district fisheries officer AKM Shafiquzzaman, at a press conference in his office yesterday, hoped that fishermen would be able to catch fish in Hakaluki haor soon. “We have been sprinkling lime on the contaminated water since April 16, when the dead fish were found floating on Hakaluki haor. The water is going back to normal gradually and it will be fine soon,” he claimed. He added that around 25 tonnes of fish have died in the haor in the last couple of days. “We will release 18 lakh spawns of fish in the haor soon,” he added. However, the deaths of fish, frogs, and fowl in the hundreds as an aftermath of floods in Sylhet region, caused by the late-March onrush of water from mountain streams, is a new phenomenon altogether. The hill water and excessive rain submerged a vast tract of the backswamps in Sunamganj and a few other north-eastern haor zones. The flash floods submerged the wetlands of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, Brahmanbaria, and Moulvibazar.

deaths of fishes, ducks in Hakaluki haor

Toxins behind disaster

Experts dont buy rotten paddy story

Environmental experts have ruled out the possibility of rotten paddy causing the deaths of fish and ducks in the countrys biggest haor (wetland), Hakaluki as they believe that either toxic metals flowed into the haor from the upstream or got mixed into it from local sources. Paddy often rots by remaining under floodwater for several days. It actually becomes food for aquatic lives instead of harming them, the experts pointed out. They fear that chemical contamination will spell disaster for aquatic lives and destroy the ecology of the haor. Aquatic lives, including fish, can survive between pH levels 6 and 8.5, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, senior scientific officer of the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), told this correspondent. He was sure that the fish and other aquatic lives died because of some chemical. The authorities are confusing us by saying that the fish died because of a pH level of 8.5 in Hakaluki haor. It is not true that the contamination occurred due to rotten paddy, Abdus Sobhan, former additional director-general of the Department of Environment (DoE), told The Independent yesterday. Terming the situation as an environmental disaster, Sobhan, who is also general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA), said, There have been massive floods in this area in the past. We have never seen fish and ducks dying because of rotten paddy. The government should find out the source of the chemical and the reason behind the deaths of ducks and aquatic creatures, he said. We have seen the presence of fish and other aquatic life in the Buriganga at Shyampur even at pH level 10, the green activist added. The government should immediately test the haor water, said Abdul Motin, general secretary, Bangladesh Paribesh Bachao Andolan (BAPA). There can be many causes for the deaths of fish and ducks in Hakaluki haor. There are open-pit mines in Assam and Meghalaya in India. Farmers use fertilisers and pesticides. So, conjecture will not help. The government should find out the reason immediately, he said. There is definitely some toxic component in the water of Hakaluki haor, he believes. Our Sylhet office has collected the water, the rotten paddy, and the fish from Hakaluki haor for laboratory tests in Dhaka, said Solaiman Haider, the director of DoE. Hakaluki haor is an ecologically critical area, he said, adding, The Fisheries Research Institute is working on the issue. We hope they will soon find out the real cause after testing the samples. I have never seen rotting paddy leading to fish deaths. It is quite shocking, said a local fisherman. A five-member team from the botany department of Dhaka University, led by Prof. Dr Moniruzzaman, visited some of the haors in Sunamganj to collect water samples. Talking to the reporters after the visit, Dr Moniruzzaman said the water of the Hakaluki haor is not in its normal condition. There is some toxic gas in the water, because of which fish and other aquatic animals are dying. If a lot of water can be added to the haor, the water will return to normal. Heavy rain might flush out the toxins, he said. However, he did not reply to question on whether the haors water was polluted due to the flow of hazardous materials from the uranium mine in India. Moulvibazar district fisheries officer AKM Shafiquzzaman, at a press conference in his office yesterday, hoped that fishermen would be able to catch fish in Hakaluki haor soon. We have been sprinkling lime on the contaminated water since April 16, when the dead fish were found floating on Hakaluki haor. The water is going back to normal gradually and it will be fine soon, he claimed. He added that around 25 tonnes of fish have died in the haor in the last couple of days. We will release 18 lakh spawns of fish in the haor soon, he added. However, the deaths of fish, frogs, and fowl in the hundreds as an aftermath of floods in Sylhet region, caused by the late-March onrush of water from mountain streams, is a new phenomenon altogether. The hill water and excessive rain submerged a vast tract of the backswamps in Sunamganj and a few other north-eastern haor zones. The flash floods submerged the wetlands of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, Brahmanbaria, and Moulvibazar.