Activists vow to continue movement
The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports yesterday vowed to continue with its movement against construction of a coal-fired power plant in Rampal until the government scraps the much-debated project.
“The movement will continue until the interest of the people is protected,” said Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah, convener of the committee, at a press briefing at the office of the Communist Party of Bangladesh in Dhaka.
The briefing came a couple of days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had reaffirmed her government's resolve to proceed with the 1,320-megawatt coal-fired power station. Earlier, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia extended her support in favour of the environmentalists.
Reading out a statement, Prof Anu Muhammad, member secretary of the committee, yesterday said whatever technologies are used, 100 percent pollution cannot be checked in any coal-fired power plant.
He added as per the Environment Impact Assessment report of the government, air from the plant will blow towards the Sundarbans for at least four months a year. So, the air will not always blow towards the opposite direction of the forest, he added.
The harmful air that would be emitted from the plant would harm the Sundarbans during winter and the rest of the country the rest of the year, he observed.
“Four months is enough to damage the Sundarbans,” he noted.
He further said there was no guarantee that water used in the plant would be treated properly before discharging it into the river.
According to the government, ultra-supercritical technology would be used at the plant and all available modern technologies would be applied to prevent pollution. Carbon dioxide to be emitted through the 275-metre-long chimney would remain within a 1.6-kilometre radius of the plant, the government claims.
Density of other gases would be within the permissible limit set by the World Health Organization and other international agencies. The best quality coal from Australia, Indonesia and South Africa would be used at the plant, said the premier on Saturday.
The government is aware of emission of light and sound during coal transportation. The emission would be kept at the minimum level, and coal would be brought to the plant site from deep sea by covered barges, said the premier.
But Prof Muhammad said although it had been said what steps would be taken to avoid damages, their application and implementation was very uncertain.
“The main point is even if the recommendations are followed, damages to the Sundarbans are unavoidable. If ships ply, there will be accidents and risk of pollution, the sanctuary of the dolphins will be affected on the ships' route and the waves, sound and light will harm the biodiversity.”
Prof Muhammad also ruled out forming an alliance with BNP to build up stronger support against the Rampal project, saying the conventions of the national committee bans it from joining hands with anybody or any political party who works or worked against national interests in the past.
The BNP took a number of anti-people steps in the past, he said, citing the Phulbari case as an example.
When BNP was in power in 2006, security personnel opened fire on agitating locals and protesters protesting against setting up of an open-pit coalmine at Phulbari upazila in Dinajpur, leaving at least three dead and 70 others wounded.
Prof Muhammad said the government itself has kept the movement alive and created an opportunity for BNP to use Rampal as an issue to threaten a movement. If the project is cancelled, the movement will not linger, he added.
The economist warned that if the project is implemented, bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India might turn bitter.
“The Sundarbans is our last refuge. If it is destroyed, discontent will take a dangerous shape and will be a permanent arrangement for animosity.”
As the next course of action, the committee would hold “March to Dhaka” programme and stage a grand rally in the capital in November to press for scrapping the project.
A Bangladesh-India joint venture company signed an agreement with India's state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd on July 12, paving the way for construction of the much-debated power plant.
The construction is set to start within three to four months and the plant is scheduled to go into commercial production by July 2019.
Environmentalists have been up in arms about the power plant because of its proximity to the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest and a Unesco World Heritage Site.
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