The Sundarbans , a World Heritage Site is a unique marvel of nature, the world’s biggest mangrove forest, home to the Royal Bengal Tiger and various other species of flora and fauna. It is no ordinary forest. It deserves special care as a natural barrier to the inevitable cyclones that foment every year at the Bay of Bengal.
Our Sundarban crying which has since then spread out to over 34,000 hectares of forest area. The oil slick is visible on the water around several areas in that region.
Sundarban is, economically, of immense importance, for its neighbourhood provides the breeding ground for fish and aquatic mammals, thereby keeping alive a rich source of protein for the people and providing livelihoods to millions, permanent or itinerant, who depend on the fish reserves. The seasonal “Bawwalis” and the honey-collectors are also dependent on the mangrove.
Now, who takes care of the Sundarbans? The West Bengal government has a ministry for the development of the Sundarbans, they look after all matters related to their part of the mangrove, which is appreciably smaller than the size of ours. And it is plain to see that the West Bengal government is doing a far better job in keeping their part in prime condition. The authorities there, with the head warden in lead, are already taking measures to stop any infiltration of this spillage in their part. That’s preparedness for you.
So the interministerial group have now called the “authorities” to urge the people nearby to jump into the oil-infested waters of Shela to manually collect the cakes of furnace oil.
This could take ages, and there is no concern shown as to what damages to their health that could cause. The navy ship stands helpless, staring at the remaining beauty of the Sundarbans!
The cry I want to make is for a “Ministry for the Sundarbans.” We have seen many interdepartmental think-tanks sit to solve matters of emergencies, but the results are dismal – we end up with a report that gathers dust with a million other such reports and hardly any action is ever taken as per the suggestions of those reports.
It is not a feasible option to refuse technological growth. However, in an era when everyone else is moving to more sustainable and less harmful sources of energy, maybe we should also look into other, more desirable, options. If nothing else will do and nuclear energy is the only avenue left to us, care needs to be taken, to the point of seeming compulsive, to ensure that we can effectively maintain such a power plant and are fully capable of dealing with any deviation from standard operating procedures.
The whole world feels an energy crisis, and an eternal pressure to keep up with the demands of modern life. However, everyone is trying to meet these demands while keeping an eye out for the environment and towards sustainability. We cannot afford to do any different either. This accident has forced us to admit how unprepared and even apathetic we are about disaster prevention and management.
People have been screaming for a separate ministry for the garment industry for better co-ordination of efforts to handle the problems of that crucial sector, but alas, to no avail.
Now the Sundarbans is screaming for one, but does anyone hear it?
The Sundarbans is making a loud cry for its survival, but no one seems to be there to listen.
Significant, possibly irreparable, damage has already been done in the Sundarbans oil spill. Maybe we can find some little solace by at least learning some lessons about how to better prepare ourselves in the future.
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