Sultana Kamal, convener of National Committee to Protect the Sundarbans, speaks during a press conference yesterday organised by the committee protesting the signing of Rampal Coal Power Plant agreement
Rich in biodiversity, the Sundarbans mangrove forest is a house to a number of rare and endangered species. Green activists fear that with the implementation of the proposed coal power plant at Rampal, the Unesco World Heritage site will be affected adversely mainly due to air and water pollution
The proposed 1320MW coal-fired power plant at Rampal of Bagerhat would bring no good for the country, rather incur irreplaceable loss to the Sundarbans mangrove forest as well as to the country’s economy, say experts.
They mentioned that different local and foreign surveys have already revealed that the project is risky and unusually costly. They also wonder why the government is moving ahead with the project when it is not implementable considering the economical, environmental and social aspects.
An agreement was signed with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), India on Tuesday to build the power plant near the forest, a Unesco World Heritage site. The $1.49 billion plant is likely to start producing electricity in 2019. It would be financed by Indian Exim Bank.
The National Committee to Protect the Sundarbans, a platform demanding cancellation of the project, announced Tuesday a black day from a press conference yesterday. They said that only India would be benefited from the project.
On the other hand, Bangladesh would face economic and environmental disasters since India would not take responsibilities for any loss.
Committee Convener Sultana Kamal said that the government would not have signed the agreement had it been a pro-liberation one.
“This project is totally against the spirit of liberation. The government has discussed the project with the stakeholders several times, but has signed the agreement ignoring their suggestions.”
She said that the plant would release poisonous gases and chemical wastes that would destroy the greenery, lives and biodiversity in the forest, and affect over 20 million people depended on the forest’s resources for livelihood.
Sultana Kamal hoped that both the countries would consider the facts and stop building the project, or at least shift it to a safer distance from the Sundarbans.
Economist Prof MM Akash said that the decision of setting up the plant would not be economically viable for the country.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune last evening, he said that they had several times urged the government to stop the project, but to no avail.
“We have heard that India’s Exim Bank will finance the project. But they will only finance the project if it benefits India’s export, import and trade. But the Bangladesh government is yet to inform the countrymen whether the plant will use Indian coal or not. If not, this bank will not finance the project,” said the Dhaka University teacher.
Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of TIB, mentioned that the Indian high commissioner had thanked Bangladesh after the signing of the agreement. “This gratitude has raised question whether the deal was inked to serve the interests of India.”
National Committee member Sharif Jamil said that the government had earlier assured that they would use high quality coal in the plant. But now they are also considering import of low-grade coal of India.
Copyright: dhakatribune
