Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has temporarily closed the route through Shela River for commercial vessels.
The vessel ‘Sea Horse-1’ carrying 1,235 tonnes of coals sank after its bottom was ruptured on Saturday afternoon.
Efforts to salvage the vessel is yet to start nearly two days after the capsize.
The sunken vessel’s Master Sirajul Islam filed a
general diary with the local police on Sunday.
On Monday, Chandpal Range’s Forester Sultan
Mahmud filed a case against six, including the vessel’s owner, at Bagerhat’s
Sharankhola police.
“The
sinking of the coal-laden vessel has damaged the ecology of the Sundarbans and
that’s why damages have been sought,” Divisional Forest Official Saidul Islam told
bdnews24.com.
Meanwhile, the BIWTA has temporarily shut down
plying of all vessels through the Shela River in an effort to avoid further
mishaps.
Almost two days after the capsize efforts to
salvage the vessel is yet to start.
BIWTA officials said that it would ‘take time’.
“The salvage vessels we have in Khulna and
Barisal can pull out vessels weighing 250 tonnes. We have informed higher
authorities and are in touch with the vessel’s owner,” said BIWTA Khulna
Division Assistant Director Ashraf Hossain.
The sunken vessel, weighing around 75 tonnes,
was carrying over 1,200 tonnes of coal.
In December 2014, an oil-tanker sunk in the same
river sank spilling 357,664 litres of furnace oil it was carrying.
The massive oil spill had put the biodiversity
and ecology of the Sundarbans, world's biggest mangrove forest and a world
heritage site since 1997, at risk.
Since then environmentalists and different
socio-cultural organisations have been demanding a ban on plying of cargo
vessels through the Sundarbans.
