Neither the cargo owner nor the authorities concerned began as of last night the salvage operation of the vessel that sank in the Pashur River near the Sundarbans with 510 tonnes of coal.
Experts observe that the disaster would affect the forest's ecosystem badly.
Two officials of a Narayanganj-based firm visited the spot and ascertained that they would need a week to pull up the cargo, MV Zia Raj, from the river.
It capsized near Joymonirghol area of the Pashur Channel on October 27 and sank after two days.
Claiming that no harmful impact was visible yet, forest officials said that they had sent water samples to the Department of Environment for assessment.
Meanwhile, the three-strong probe body formed to look into the incident has blamed the vessel's master, Bhulu Gazi, for the capsize. They submitted the report yesterday.
Md Saidur Rahman, divisional forest officer of the Sundarbans (east zone), yesterday said that they had also requested the BIWTA authorities to salvage the vessel and conduct a fitness test.
Mongla Port Chairman Rear Admiral Riaz Uddin Ahmed said that if the vessel owner's initiative failed, they would conduct a salvage operation with the help of BIWTA.
“Movement of ships and cargoes in the channel remains normal as the vessel sank near the river bank. We will take maximum precaution so that the coal does not spread,” he added.
To trace its location, the forest officials tied an empty drum with the sunken cargo.
The law enforcers arrested Master Bhulu Gazi on Wednesday after the Forest Department filed a case against its owner and master seeking Tk5 crore as compensation.
The coal, imported from Indonesia, was being taken from Mongla Port to Jessore for brickfields and iron factories.
Environment activists have expressed frustration as the salvage operation had not started although over 72 hours have passed since the capsize.
They also demanded that the government arranges rescue and salvage tools immediately to avert severe pollution of the river, which is a dolphin sanctuary, in the future since this route is used by many ships and cargoes to carry coal and fuel oil.
On December 9 last year, an oil tanker carrying around 350,000 litres (75,000 gallons) of furnace oil sank in Sela River after being hit by a cargo ship. The oil spread across an area of several hundred square kilometres and contaminated the land and water of the tidal mangrove forest.
Prof Dr Abdullah Harun Chowdhury of environmental science discipline at Khulna University thinks that the chemical elements in coal of the sunken cargo have already contaminated the water and riverbed, and will have long-term impact on aquatic species and soil.
He said that the chemical elements in coal – sodium, lead, chromium, cadmium, mercury, radium, arsenic and others – would enter the fishes body, and kill them slowly. People consuming the fishes would also be affected.
Coming in contact with water, the sulphur in coal would form sulphuric acid and travel with the water. The phytoplankton, zooplankton, fishes, crocodiles and the dolphins would be harmed by the acid, Prof Harun added.
