They also demanded that all the information about the country's mineral resources should be discussed in the Jatiya Sangsad.

The roundtable on 'Tengratila Blowouts and Oil-Gas Resources of Bangladesh', was jointly organised by Saptahik 2000 and Action Aid Bangladesh at the National Press Club in the city.

Chaired by Action Aid Bangladesh Country Director Nasrin Huq, the roundtable was moderated by Bangladesh Economic Association President Kazi Kholiquzzaman.

Speakers at the roundtable blamed the government for awarding unexplored Chhatak gas field in the name of marginal gas field to Canadian Oil Company Niko Resources through an unsolicited JVA undermining the national interest.

They said the ministers and government officials responsible for the mishaps including Niko must be brought to trial.

The speakers said the government should formulate a long-term energy policy upholding public interest and checking theft of the natural resources with the collaboration of politicians and bureaucrats.

They suggested awarding of contracts to local gas companies for the exploration and development of the gas fields.

Ruling party lawmaker Sakhawat Hossain Bokul said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Niko was signed during AL government in 2001, and the present government is just continuing it.

Communist Party of Bangladesh General Secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim said the BNP government could cancel the MoU with Niko as it cancelled many other projects of AL government.

"Niko should be kicked out immediately, and all other PSCs with the foreign companies should be cancelled," he demanded.

AL presidium member Suranjit Sengupta said, "All persons including Khaleda Zia, ministers and officials involved in signing the agreement must be sued."

AL lawmaker Faruk Khan alleged that the allocation in the gas sector is too little to build up expertise necessary for a national gas and oil exploring company like Bapex.

"Politicians and the bureaucrats are destroying the national companies in a bid to make their own profits through unsolicited contracts with the foreign companies," said Prof Anu Muhammad of Dhaka University (DU).

Contract with the foreign companies either in the form of PSCs or JVA has a link with black money, he said, adding, "This is the reason for which the government was so interested in extending the provision of whitening the black money."

Dr Hossain Monsur, chairman of geology department of DU, regretted that the blowouts of gas wells were not discussed in parliament although these have caused massive public tension and damaged local ecology.

Presenting the keynote paper, Prof Badrul Imam of the department said all information about the relief well that the Niko is going to drill on July 25 should be made public and ensure that the countrymen do not see any more blowouts.

Faruk Khan, who recently visited Tengratila, feared that the relief well that is going to be drilled, is only 100 meters away from the present relief well, and has the possibility of further blowouts.

Hunger Project Executive Director Badiul Alam Majumder alleged that the government is barring the locals from staging agitation and rallies at Tengratila by the army and the BDR. Two locals were arrested for leading rallies, he added.

Justice Golam Rabbani, Prof Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, Engineer Amanul Islam Khan, Prof Shamsul Alam, Prof Asif Nazrul, BNP MP Syed Moazzem Hossain, Advocate Abed Raza, Advocate Salimullah Khan, Journalist Golam Mortoza also spoke on the occasion.