Plastic waste carried by rivers form a dead sea in the Bay of Bengal

Environmentalists have mentioned that six countries located in the SAARC region have been affected by forming a dead sea in the Bay of Bengal around Sri Lanka, as a result, they have identified that the countries like Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia are at risk. The dead sea, which has currently formed in the Bay of Bengal, extends from 100 meters to 400 meters depth of the sea and covers an area of about 60000 square kilometers. Environmentalists have mentioned that this situation has arisen because the regional countries have been dumping waste that includes plastic into the sea through the rivers for years without proper management. This situation occurs due to the reduction of the oxygen level on a large scale due to the activation of plastics, polythene, nitrates, phosphates, and dung released to the ocean by the regional countries. Therefore, marine life has become very low in this sea area, which has made a severe impact on the growth of fish resources as well as the fishing and tourism industries. As this destruction can be minimized through the concerted decisions taken by all the countries in the region, shortly, a round of consolidated discussions called “Ayora” will be launched among the countries. Regional governments must take immediate actions, as the addition of plastic to the food chain harms human health.