Have a rethink about erecting power plant near Sundarbans

Photo: Star

Increasing electricity production was one of the important electoral pledges of the ruling government. Huge amount of electricity is needed for the development of different sectors. The government has taken some steps to increase electricity production. For this purpose, government took a decision to build a 1320 megawatt coal-based power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat near Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.
According to newspaper reports, this project will be built only 14 km away from Sundarbans. Environmentalists and rights activists opined that this may destroy the ecological balance of the area in question. There is another question: When the National Thermal Power Company of India could not obtain permission to build a coal-based power plant on the Indian side of the mangrove forest, how could our government give them permission to do the same here? The project will obviously harm the Sundarbans. Government should rethink about the implementation of the project.