The Big Spill: Pak Scrubs Up but Stains Will Remain
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LAHORE, Aug 25 (OneWorld) - Dead marine life, respiratory disorders, a blackened coastline and 90,000 jobless fishermen -those are just some of the casualties of the environmental disaster caused by the recent oil spill off the south Pakistan city of Karachi.
The authorities are only now coming to terms with the ravages of the Aug 14 catastrophe in which a Maltese tanker spilled 15,000 tons of crude across a 25-mile stretch of the Karachi coast. Environmentalists say things could get worse as the ship has plenty more crude left in its hold. "This is certainly the worst-ever ecological disaster on our shores," declares the deputy director of the Environment Protection Agency of Sindh province, Irfanullah Tonio. "But we are trying to contain the effects of the spill with all available resources and state-of-the-art equipment." A clean-up operation launched last week to scrape the thick black sludge from the city's popular Clifton beach and other areas of the coastline still continues, which, the authorities claim, will last 12 days. Police and paramilitary forces have cordoned off the area and declared Clifton beach a restricted area. Authorities have closed the beach to the public and do not expect to open it for another month. But the authorities and environmentalists are at odds on the extent of the damage done to the environment and ecosystem in the Arabian Sea. Several experts have contested the government's claim that a quick salvage operation is possible. Former director of the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) Laboratories, Arshad Ali Beg, says, "It will take at least a year and a half to reopen the beach as the operation is being handled in an unprofessional way. The oil has not only spoiled the beach but also percolated eight inches through the sand." City council workers and 300 Karachi Port Trust employees are helping to remove the blackened sand. Exhausted workers trying to remove the blackened sand and piles of dead marine life dripping with oil are dismayed by the continuing leak. The pungent smell of crude has percolated into posh neighborhoods near the Karachi beaches, with residents complaining of breathing difficulties. Many have fled the area to stay with relatives and friends in other areas of the city. "Dozens of people living in my neighborhood have moved because their elders and children could not cope with the smell," says marine engineer Yousuf Ali. Says another resident Ahsan Ahmed, "My family is preparing to shift elsewhere as the fumes are terrible." "The noxious fumes are making our eyes burn and breathing has become difficult," says schoolteacher Ghazala Saleem. Anwar Mahmood says he has quit his morning jog. "I used to jog every day along with hundreds of others in a pleasant environment, but the beach now stinks," he complains. "You cannot even open your windows." Local health practitioner Dr Qamar Manzoor says he receives 30-35 patients daily, suffering from throat, skin and eye infections. Karachi's School of Health Services (SHS) has set up medical camps in the affected belt. These camps will provide free consultation and treatments by eye, skin, ENT and other specialists. The deputy director of SHS, Dr Asif Zaman, says eye-drops, nebulizers and oxygen are being supplied. Besides, 5,000 masks and 20,000 pamphlets containing information on precautionary measures have been distributed in the camps. Leaked oil has destroyed young mangroves and affected marine life, say environmentalists. "The new generation of mangroves has vanished," says coastal ecosystems specialist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Tahir Qureshi. "Small fish are badly affected and the larger ones which migrated will never return," predicts Qureshi. He warns that coastal areas west of Karachi, the seasonal breeding grounds of the rare green and Olive Ridley turtles, are in danger too. "The radius of the spill is widening and may hit the western coast as well." Port authorities have requisitioned two helicopters and planes to spray dispersants and emulsify the sludge-hit water, while operations to clean up the beach and mangroves are underway. "Whatever quantity of oil reached our mangrove forests is being soaked up and cleaned," informs the general manager of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Iftikhar Arshad. But local fishermen believe it may take at least five years to clean up the sea. The former vice-president of the Fishermen Cooperative Society, Haji Shafi Mohammad Jamote, says the high tide - expected within five-six days - will spread the sludge further into land and threaten more mangroves. KPT's Arshad is certain that his men will contain the damage. "The leakage cannot be measured but it is still manageable and we have sprayed more dispersants on the coast," he adds. A siphoning operation to remove the oil was given up last Thursday because of high winds but restarted later. Fish exporter Akhlaque fears that the chemicals used to contain the spill could force the oil to settle on the seabed, which would directly affect seafish, particularly shrimps. The livelihood of more than 90,000 registered fishermen is at stake because not only have seafood sales declined, fish prices have plunged 60 to 70 percent across the board. "Fishermen of 13 coastal villages with a population over 200,000 are among those directly affected by the oil spill," says a survey conducted by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, a non-governmental organization (NGO). Pakistan's economy will also suffer as the export of fish and shrimps from the area has been hit. The negative impact of the disaster may not be immediately visible on marine life, but the next season's harvest of fish and shrimps could reveal the true extent of the damage, exporters fear. Currently, the Karachi Fish Harbor caters to the needs of around 2,300 boats bringing in an annual catch of around 650,000 tons of fish and shrimp. The harbor earns US $150 million annually from seafood exports. |
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"Incompetencies at best"Author:
Ejaz Asi
Time: 08/26/2003 10:51
Comment: It comes as no wonder that like previous shows of high incompetencies in past, Pakistan's government still remains at odds in this case so far. And their best move so far remains "Blaming" greek and philipino pilots instead of looking at the culprits of their own. And look at their wisdom of claiming, "clifton beach shall be opened next month". God, give them some wisdom.
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