Safety at Rooppur N-plant first

Noted filmmaker Tanvir Mokammel yesterday appealed to the government to carefully ensure foolproof safety measures at the country's first-ever nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna.
Mokammel described what he witnessed during his recent visit to Japan which is gradually rebuilding itself from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the resulting tsunami that tore through it on March 11, 2011, triggering another disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
“It is true that we have a shortage of power and we have to overcome this crisis. But the government must be cautious so that a greater danger does not emerge while it is attempting to overcome the present crisis as it (the nuclear plant) has tremendous risks involved,” he said.
Mokammel was speaking at a discussion on the March 11 disasters, organised by Shapla Neer, Bangladesh at NGO Forum's conference room in the city.
Speaking at the discussion, Prof Ohashi Masaaki of Keinsen University elaborated how non-government organisations, with the government, could help disaster victims and focused some challenges faced by NGOs.
Masaaki, also the chairperson of Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation, discussed what residents of north-eastern Japan went through after last year's disaster and the disadvantages of nuclear power plants.
Atsushi OJIMA, country director of Shapla Neer, also spoke at the programme.
Russia will provide the necessary technical assistance and 85 percent of the fund for the 1,000 MW-capacity nuclear plant at Rooppur which is scheduled to go into operation in 2018.