Mubarak Village oil spill affects fishermen's livelihood, govt fails to start cleanup operation

Ismail Sasoli Published October 26, 2018

The locals have complained that no efforts have been made to clean the oil spill, which has destroyed their “source of income”. —Photo by author

"The oil spill has ruined our fishing nets and the fishermen have suffered huge monetary losses," says local resident.

The concerned authorities have so far been unable to identify the actual cause of oil spill along the Mubarak Village-Churna Island coastal belt, which has badly affected the livelihood of local fishermen, while a cleanup operation has also not started despite the claims made by Balochistan's Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

According to a statement issued by the Balochistan Environmental protection Agency (BEPA), a 300-metre stretch of the coastal belt located North-East of the Churna Island has been affected by the oil spill.

The locals have complained that so far no efforts have been made to clean the oil spill, which has "destroyed their livelihood and the only source of income”.

“The oil spill has ruined our fishing nets and rafts used for fishing. The fishermen have suffered huge monetary losses due to the spill,” a local resident told DawnNewsTV.

The locals have complained that no efforts have been made to clean the oil spill. —Photo by author

After the news regarding the oil spill surfaced on Thursday, the provincial authorities ordered Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BPPL), which operates a facility near the location of oil spill, to halt its operations till further notice.

On Friday, the PDA had claimed that the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) has sent boats and equipment for a cleanup operation along the Mubarak Village-Churna Island coastal belt. However, the cleanup operation had not started till the filing of this report.

Meanwhile, the deputy director of BEPA in Labella Region, Muhammad Khan Uthmankhail, inspected the onshore and offshore area to find the reason behind the oil spill.

Uthmankhail told DawnNewsTV that no oil spill was observed from Byco's Single point mooring (SPM) operation or the attached pipeline.

However, the spillage of tar and oil has wreaked havoc on the entire stretch of the coast from Mubarak Village to Churna Island and a strong stench permeates the area, local residents and fishermen said.

The BEPA has also placed a temporary ban on all tour operators at Charna Island, who were operating without no-objection certificates (NOC).

An order issued by the authority stated that the operators had not submitted an environmental management plan and added that the Regional Environmental Protection Agency office at Hub would facilitate their registration process.

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Comments (11) Closed

Danish

Oct 26, 2018 10:52pm

Who is going to pay the damage. Chinese have destroyed their environment and polluting their country by buildings factories now they are making Balochistan costal area same.

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Umar

Oct 26, 2018 11:22pm

@Danish sir as if your costal area beaches are a popular destination. Just let there be some development and exploration. While, government can enforce environmental regulations and laws side by side to keep a balance.

Recommend 0

Oct 26, 2018 11:27pm

Just sad! The government only seem to care about the rich whilst pacifying the majority through rhetoric gestures.

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Jalbani Baloch

Oct 27, 2018 12:51am

Make an indepth inquiry into the oil leakage and the company, which is to be held responsible should be penalized, made to clean the shore and pay for the damages to the poor fisherman of Mubarak Village.

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Magnanimous approach

Oct 27, 2018 01:21am

Must believe beyond doubt that oil spills or tar accumulation coming from Byco Petroleum. But we also know Byco people are rich people and the fishermen belonging to Mubarak Village are hapless peasants. It has been a hallmark of Balochistan Govt to care about themselves and their rich partners.

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Naxalite

Oct 27, 2018 02:53am

@Danish Chinese have a beautiful and clean environment altogether.

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Amjad Durrani Engineer USA

Oct 27, 2018 05:09am

This oil spill is very dangerous occurrence for the existing marine ecosystem & marine life- a source of livelihood for local fishermen. This oil spills needs to be controlled & cleaned on priority basis. It is mind boggling to read that till now source of this spill has not been ascertained which shows lethargic & ineffective preparedness/response of our local institution confronted with event of local/national disasters. The international law - polluters pay the cleanup cost, must be applied in this case too, by using specially designed booms -a very effective for oil spill cleanups. Other methods include - 1. using Sorbents(sponges) placed on the surface of spillage affected areas, 2. burning in situ, 3. using dispensers(using fertilizer to disperse oil spillage), 4. skimming with tool & equipment, 5. using hot water to push oil back into water, 6. Using manual labor, 7. using cranes and tractors etc. The cleanup cost of this oil spillage should be shared by BPL & Baluchistan govt.

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Javed

Oct 27, 2018 06:28am

The government could not care less about environmental cleanups. These are so first world ideas.

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Amjad Durrani Engineer USA

Oct 27, 2018 09:50am

@Jalbani Baloch well said. But the question remains who will bell the cat? Having coauthored Pakiatan’s Environmental Emission Standards, it pains me to see that despite law on its side in form of Environmental Act 1995, such inaction to safeguard our environment. This prevailing lethargy, total apathy and business as usual attitude by BEPA, not bothering for these poor fisherman who remain deprived drone their livelihood for days together, is unpalatable. There is no doubt about the source of this oil spills which can be ascertained very easily through a professional team of inspector well conversant with such happenings. I hope CJP takes notice of this calamity fallen on these poor people and relieve them from such pathetic conditions soon.

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SHAHID SATTAR

Oct 27, 2018 09:55am

Couldn't the local residents of the area start the clean up on their own initiative? They continue to suffer with their families and wait for money which will eventually be given only to a few big shots in the area bypassing the suffering populace. The few will keep it themselves and will not share the same with anyone else. This is always the end result. The inhabitants may clean the area and tell the government about their efforts. Anyone who takes part in this case should put his name on the list submitted to the government to inform them about the same. I am sure something will result which they could use themselves without involving their masters.

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Alba

Oct 27, 2018 10:21am

Hard working farmers and fishermen should be helped by the government and companies polluting the Arabian Sea closed down until further notice.

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