Shut down all coal-fired power plants near Sunderbans
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) yesterday placed a 15-point demand, which includes closing down all under-construction coal-based power plants near Sundarbans and stopping industrialisation at sensitive areas to save the largest mangrove forest in the world.
Bapa came up with the demand at a webinar titled "What should we do to save Sundarbans and the demands" to mark "Sundarbans Day".
This year, the slogan of Sundarbans Day was "Save Sundarbans, Save Bangladesh".
Placing the 15-point demand, Bapa President Sultana Kamal said to save the country, there is no alternative but to save Sundarbans.
She demanded the government take immediate measures to stop encroachment of waterbodies, canals and rivers surrounding Sundarbans in the name of industrialisation.
Sultana Kamal also demanded immediate actions to stop setting fire at different parts of Sundarbans and bringing perpetrators -- including smugglers, grabbers and a section of employees of forest departments -- involved in such heinous activities to book.
Bapa in its 15-point demand said the government should take immediate measures to stop all coal-based powerplant projects at Rampal, Taltoli and Paira areas, and other red-category projects, which will destroy the forest and rivers of Sundarbans.
Bapa suggested that the government might set up large scale wind and solar-based power plants in those areas.
Sultana Kamal, also a human rights activist, hoped that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will reconsider her government's various measures, which will destroy Sundarbans' eco-biological diversity.
Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, an environmental activist and a professor of Khulna University, said soil quality in Sundarbans has deteriorated due to presence of chemicals in water, as untreated waste gets dumped from different industries surrounding Sundarbans.
"That's why new plants are not growing from seeds in different areas of Sundarbans. That's why different areas inside Sundarbans look barren," he added.
He also said life cycle of different animals and trees in Sundarbans has changed negatively due to pollution in the area.
Bapa Executive Vice President Mohammad Abdul Matin said Sundarbans cannot be saved unless catching fish using poison is not stopped. Livelihood of 40 lakh people depend on the forest.
Bapa General Secretary Sharif Jamil, Vice President Kamrul Ahsan Khan, joint secretaries Sharmeen Murshid and Alamgir Kabir, among others, also spoke at the programme.
Comments