Silt around sunk Bangladeshi ship could impact tourist flow to Gangasagar fair

Siltation around the capsized vessel over the past three years has blocked channels used by boats to ferry pilgrims and tourists to Sagar island

Kolkata: A Bangladeshi cargo vessel, which had sunk in the River Muriganga - a distributary of the River Hooghly at the southern tip of West Bengal - more than three years ago has now turned out to be a headache for the state government ahead of the Gangasagar fair and is also threatening the existence of the river itself.

The issue came up in a meeting held on December 27 by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to take stock of the preparations for the coming fair. ((PTI file photo))

Siltation around the capsized vessel over the past three years has blocked channels used by boats to ferry pilgrims and tourists to Sagar island from the mainland where the annual fair is held in mid-January.

Experts said that unless the ship is removed, the situation could aggravate and the silt would choke the river eventually leading to its death. It would then, only survive as a tidal creek.

The issue came up in a meeting held on December 27 by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to take stock of the preparations for the coming fair. Senior bureaucrats briefed Banerjee about the problem.

A senior official, who did not wish to be named, said the Bangladeshi cargo vessel, MV Dhrubo Rupanti, had capsized in the Muriganga river on April 9, 2020 after it suffered engine failure and hit an electric post between Sagar Island and Kachuberia.

“(A) Massive siltation has been going on centering around that capsized vessel on the riverbed. It went unnoticed all these years. It came to light two to three months ago when the silt started to surfaced above the water level and took the shape of a char – a riverine island, blocking the channel which boats take to ferry pilgrims and tourists to Gangasagar,” said an official present in the meeting.

This year the Gangasagar fair will be held between January 8 and January 17. Around four to five million pilgrims from across India take the holy dip at Gangasagar, the confluence of the Ganges river and the Bay of Bengal to celebrate Makar Sankranti on January 15, the first major Hindu festival in the Gregorian calendar.

Officials said that there were 10 crew members in the vessel. All were rescued and brought to Sagar island after the vessel capsized. As the pandemic was going on at the time, the rescued crew members were kept in quarantine in a makeshift hospital on Sagar island. They stayed there for nearly a year before being sent back to Bangladesh.

“Hardly any time is left for the Gangasagar fair. The capsized ship can’t be removed before the mela. We have started heavy dredging so that two alternative channels in the River Muriganga may be opened to ferry pilgrims to the Sagar island. Two dredging machines, each with a capacity of removing 500 cubic metre of silt in one hour, have been deployed,” the official said

Several state government bureaucrats and officers from the Indian Navy and Coast Guard were present at the meeting and the discussion focussed on how the ship could be removed.

“The chief minister requested the Indian Navy if it could help. But even the Indian Navy informed that it doesn’t have the infrastructure to remove a capsized ship. They informed that there were specialised salvage companies both in India and abroad to do that task. Even the Navy takes their help sometimes,” said a top bureaucrat.

Experts have advised that the sunk ship should be removed at the earliest.

“Firstly, the cargo vessel was carrying fly ash when it was returning to Bangladesh. The fly ash which has heavy metals in it including lead and cadmium got mixed with the water. This might have surely had some effect on the local biodiversity. Secondly, if the ship is not removed the siltation would continue and ultimately it may choke the river. It would remain navigable only during the highest tide and boats won’t be able to take that route during most of the time. In future it may also get cut off and exist just as a tidal creek,” said Tuhin Ghosh, director of School of Oceanographic Studies in Jadavpur University.

It has been decided that as of now the area would be marked and cordoned off with buoys, which will be visible at night. Officials said that the chief minister has asked the authorities to explore all avenues on how to remove that ship after the Gangasagar fair.

“We need to check whether in future it may obstruct the navigation channels of other ships passing through that area. If it is not, sometimes it is best to leave it as it is because it won’t be cost effective to remove the ship,” said a senior official.