A huge dead whale that washed ashore on Kutubdia’s western beach has resurfaced repeatedly after burial, spreading a strong foul smell and causing severe discomfort for nearby coastal communities.
A huge dead whale that washed ashore on the western beach of Kutubdia in Cox’s Bazar has caused severe distress for nearby residents as its decomposing body continues to emit a strong foul smell, local officials and residents said.
The whale floated onto the coast of South Dhurung union in Kutubdia upazila around 9:00 pm on Saturday, March 7. Local residents said the carcass gradually drifted closer to shore with the rising tide before finally reaching the beach.
South Dhurung Union Parishad chairman Alauddin Al Azad said fishermen first spotted the whale while fishing in the Bay of Bengal. Several fishing trawlers later tied ropes around the carcass and dragged it closer to the Kutubdia coast.
According to the chairman the whale was already dead and releasing a strong odor at that time. Because of the smell fishermen left it floating in the sea. Later the tide carried it to the western beach of Kutubdia.
Al Azad said the upazila administration and relevant authorities were informed about the incident though no officials arrived immediately. With no time for formal decisions local residents and representatives dug a large pit in the sand dunes and buried the whale after nearly an hour of effort to reduce the suffering of people in the area.
Residents later complained that the whale had been buried only about one hand deep under the sand. As tidal water washed away the sand the carcass swelled and surfaced again spreading an even stronger stench across the area. However chairman Al Azad said the whale had actually been buried at a depth of around eight to ten feet.
He added that the smell was so intense that workers could not be hired to handle the situation. He also alleged that no government agency had stepped forward to take effective action.
Forest department official Abdur Razzaq said incidents of this kind do not fall under their responsibilities.
Kutubdia upazila’s acting Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mahbub Alam confirmed that the huge dead whale had resurfaced repeatedly even after burial.
He said the whale’s large size caused it to swell and rise again after being buried which continued to spread a strong odor around the surrounding areas.
“The whale is extremely large. Even after burial it keeps swelling and surfacing again while emitting a powerful smell,” Mahbub Alam said. “The local chairman has been asked to arrange an excavator to cut the carcass into smaller pieces and bury them. But workers cannot be found locally because of the severe stench.”
He said there are residential settlements within about 1.5 kilometres of the site where the whale was found. The foul smell is being carried by the wind to those areas leaving residents in serious discomfort.
When asked whether any biological samples had been collected from the dead whale the UNO said he was not aware of any such step.
A local resident, Nazmul Huda Sakib said the smell from the whale has spread across a wide area.
“The stench from the dead whale has spread everywhere. People within two to three kilometres cannot work normally and residents are facing severe hardship,” he said.
