West Bengal: Fly ash of capsized barge may hit river biodiversity

KOLKATA: The capsized Bangladeshi barge laden with fly ash from a thermal power plant, environment experts said, may play havoc with water quality of the Hooghly and river bio-diversity at Pujali in South 24 Parganas, where it sank.
West Bengal Pollution Control Board has already collected samples from the spot and it fears that the toxic fly ash can adversely hit a much wider and longer course of the river.The impact on bio-diversity can only be ascertained after test results. WBPCB may impose penalty on the company, which was carrying the fly ash, for causing irreversible damage to river and its bio-diversity.
However, Kolkata Port Trust has managed to get the oil out of the fuel tank to make sure that oil spill does not worsen environmental crisis. "There is an effort to lift the barge from shipping navigational channel to bank of the river," a port official said.
A port vessel, DV Rabindra, collided with the Bangladeshi barge, MV Mamatamoyee Maa, carrying fly ash from a thermal plant for a Bangladesh merchant. According to port trust, the Bangladeshi barge entered the navigation channel without any alert. The collision left both vessels damaged. While DV Rabindra managed to sail away towards Diamond Harbour, the master of the barge - MV Mamatamoyee Maa- attempted to sail the vessel towards the shore. But it sank close to Akra due to the bore tide. All 13 crew members were rescued.
The 600 tonnes of fly ash is highly toxic and it is almost impossible to restore the water quality within a short span of time. There will be many chemical changes in the water. Total suspended solids will increase many times with an immediate adverse impact on the river bio-diversity. We have to keep a close watch on the water and its marine bio-diversity, said green crusader Subhas Datta, who referred to expert opinion on the severe adverse impact of fly ash on river water.