HC questions filling up of Moidara river

The High Court (HC) yesterday asked the government to explain in two weeks why filling up of Moidara river in Rampal upazila of Bagerhat near the Sundarbans for setting up a coal-fired power plant should not be declared illegal.
The court came up with the rule following a writ petition filed last week by Save the Sundarbans, an environmentalist organisation, saying that the government authorities concerned have been filing earth in the Moidara river to set up the power plant violating the environment laws.
Earlier on March 22, the HC in response to another writ petition issued a rule upon the government to explain why it should not be directed not to set up the proposed 1,300 Megawatt coal-fired power plant at Sapmari-Katakhali Mouja of Rampal.
Barrister Zakir Hossain, a lawyer for the petitioner Save the Sundarbans, said the authorities have been filing earth in Moidara river violating the environment laws, although the earlier HC rule is still pending.
An HC bench of Justice Hasan Foez Siddique and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain issued yesterday's rule.
Secretaries to the ministries of environment, power and land, director general of department of environment, chairman of power development board, deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Bagerhat, project director of Chittagong-Khulna coal-fired power plant, upazila nirbahi officer of Rampal and officer-in-charge of Rampal Police Station have been made respondents to the rule.