Fishes of different species are dying in the Karnaphuli river due to the impact of toxic chemicals mixed with river water.
Dead fishes are seen floating in the river since Wednesday morning. Many people are catching fish with nets in Brijghat area under the bridge on the south bank of Karnaphuli river.
S Alam Group's Sugar Refinery is located on the bank of the Karnaphuli river in Chittagong. After a fire accident in the warehouse there two days ago, the burnt and melted waste of raw sugar is flowing into the Karnaphuli river through the drain of the factory.
The toxic chemicals have been mixed with river water and the fishes are floating in the river. Various aquatic animals including fish, crabs are dying in the river since Tuesday. Local people are fishing in the river.
S Alam Sugar Refinery is located at a distance of 700 meters from the south bank of the river. The factory is next to Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway in Moizzartek area across the bridge. S Alam has its own jetty. After the goods are brought to the sea by big ships, they are first loaded at the wharf by small ships. Underground pipelines take edible oil and raw sugar into the factory by trucks. A breaking out of fire in the sugar warehouse of the factory on Monday afternoon, one lakh tonnes of sugar was burnt, S Alam authorities said.
A total of 15 units of fire service went to the spot and sprinkled water to douse the fire. Later, the army, navy and air force also joined. Even on Wednesday morning, the fire could not be extinguished fully.
Karnaphuli is a tidal river. As a result, the burnt sugar falls into the Karnaphuli river through the canal and is not confined to one place. With the tides, the sugar is spreading over at least two kilometers of the entire river.
On Tuesday, S Alam Group also claimed that they will now sit down with the experts and make a plan even if it gets mixed up in the river. Didn't fish die in Karnaphuli before? But now, even if unrefined sugar goes and the burnt sugar spills into the river, there is less chance of fish dying.
Md. Belal, a small boat worker in the Karnaphuli river, was fishing with a net in the Karnaphuli river on Wednesday. He said, “Since Tuesday afternoon, I have seen the water of the river has become somewhat black. Tidal water does not stand still in one place. Since morning, I have seen shrimps and ‘moilla’ fish floating next to the ship. Later, I went down the small dinghy next to the ship and caught fish with the net. Many fishes have been caught in the net.”
Residents of the river bank said that most of the fishes have been caught on the side of the Shikalbaha Canal. Because the burnt sugar fell directly into the river there.
Everyone in the area went to the river after getting the news of fishing in the morning. Someone has taken the net again. But most of the fish have been caught.
Chittagong District Fisheries Officer Sribhas Chand said that he saw news of fish dying in the river. He said that it was necessary to take measures to prevent pollution before building a factory next to the river.
On the banks of the Karnaphuli river, it is seen that the poisonous water of the raw sugar mixed with the burnt chemicals is falling directly into the Karnaphuli river. After that, chemicals have been mixed in the river and are polluting the water. Fishes in the river are dying. From the river, the locals are catching various types of fish including tengra, poa and shrimp. Besides, the locals are also catching fish by casting hand nets. Fishing like this was seen in an area of about 5 to 6 km.
Experts say that the burnt sugar and chemicals from the sugar mill in Karnaphuli's Ichanagar area are killing fish. The raw sugar was burnt and fell into the Karnaphuli river as waste. Discharge directly into the river through drains will have environmental impact. Depletion of water levels has created an ecological imbalance. And the fishes are dying due to decrease in oxygen level in the water.
Sugar's combustibles turn into toxic chemicals when heated to 380 degrees Celsius. And when water is removed there, oxygen and hydrogen carbon are formed. Due to which the fire in the factory started to burn. The raw sugar melted in the fire and the lava fell into the river. Due to this, the water is polluted and the fish are dying. The river has been polluted by sugar chemicals. Besides, one of the causes of river pollution is waste from 17 canals.
Residents of the local Ichanagar area complained that it was difficult to walk past the burnt sugar factory. Water sprinkled by the fire service mixed with sugar and fell into the river.
Md Hossain, Human Resource Officer of S Alam Group, said that some of the sugar burned in the fire has gone to Karnaphuli. These are being dumped on their own land. There will be no loss of biodiversity even if it goes to the river. There are no harmful chemicals.
Director of Department of Environment, Chittagong District Officer Ferdous Anwar said, "People from our lab visited the site on Tuesday after receiving information that burnt sugar from the sugar mill was falling into the Karnaphuli river. Samples were collected from different locations. The matter can be confirmed after getting the lab report. Fish and other biodiversity are dying or weakened due to the decrease in oxygen content in the water. Of course, it causes damage to the river, he added.
MD Abdul Malek, Assistant Director of Chittagong Fire Service said, "Fire fighting robot 'Luff-60' is being used to prevent the spread of sugar mill fire in Karnaphuli, Chittagong. This robot is sprinkling water at a speed of 1000 litters per minute. Due to the combustible material in the sugar raw material, the fire inside the warehouse has to be extinguished. It may take another 72 hours to bring it under complete control.
It is learnt that a fire broke out in a mill in Ichanagar area of Karnaphuli last Monday around 4 pm. 15 units of five fire service stations worked initially to control the fire. Later, members of the Air Force, Navy, Army and law enforcement agencies joined them to put out the fire.