The sight of dead fish, other aquatic creatures and even ducks floating in their hundreds on wetland water in Sunamajanj is simply foreboding. Early media reports linking the mass death with ammonia produced from rotten paddy in the submerged area have already been dismissed, terming it misleading. This can happen in a small water body unconnected to any other water channel. But when flash floods have inundated large areas of Sunamganj, such a possibility is ruled out. This area experienced similar natural calamities before but on no occasion did fish, frogs, leeches and ducks embrace deaths, let alone on an epidemic scale.
A report carried in a contemporary has hinted at a possible link between the deaths of aquatic life forms in the water bodies there and the release of uranium in the river system across the border. Earlier the Ranikor River in the West Khasi Hills experienced a similar mass extermination of fish when its water marked a change in colour. The tribal people there suspect that the open-pit mining for uranium in their area was responsible for this. Hundreds of pits abandoned after drilling and extraction of uranium are suspected to be the source of contamination of the upstream Ranikor River. Flash floods may have carried the contaminated water into the water bodies on the Bangladesh side.
A radioactive element, uranium powers nuclear reactor and atomic bombs. Extreme caution is required for handling this heavy metal but in the case of mining in the Indian part of Khasi region, no such caution seems to have been taken after the drilling. The Khasi people have protested the indifference to safe mining practices there and demanded closure of the hundreds of pits left open.
Now the cause of the death of fish in Ranikor River across the border and in the water bodies in Sunamganj is unlikely to be different. Had the fish in the water bodies of Bangladesh died before the Ranikor incident, it would be possible to conclude that there was no link between the two incidents. Since the Sunamganj disaster follows the Ranikor contamination and its consequences, there is little doubt about any connection between them.
There is no harm in looking for as precious an element as uranium which is used in nuclear reactor for production of power. But its unsafe use can prove disastrous. The Chernobyl nuclear plant accident and the Fukushima plant disaster have shown the world how apocalyptic the destructive power can be. Any naivety on the part of the mining company in the rugged Khasi pocket may have consequences of unimaginable proportion both for the inhabitants there and people living in the lower riparian Bangladesh region.
A probe by an international expert team is warranted in this case. Release of as powerful and dangerous a material as uranium into the river and water system will have long-term adverse impact not only on aquatic lives but also on human health and their livelihoods for generations.
If it is proved that uranium is not the killer agent, the focus should be on to finding out the real cause of death of fish, insects and birds in the haor water. Different government agencies either in India or Bangladesh have failed to respond promptly to collect the contaminated water for carrying out test in order to determine the agent responsible for the disaster. It is a grave matter and it should be treated with equal importance.
- Sunday, 24 November 2024 |
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