Protest against power plant

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Saturday, 04 February 2012

Author / Source : Staff Reporter

Barisal, Feb 3: A human chain was formed in front of Barisal Aswani Kumar Hall Friday morning demanding cancellation of an Indo-Bangla move to set up a coal-fired power plant only nine kilometres from Sundarban to protect the world’s largest mangrove forest from extinction. Biggyan Andolon Mancho (BAM), a youth platform of science -movement, organized the programme to press home the demand participated by the youths and students of different educational institutions and green-activists.
Among others Badruddoza Soikat, district organizer of BAM, addressed among others by Imran Habib Ruman, central coordinator BAM, Manisha Chakroborty of SBMCH, Saika Alam of Govt Girls School, Rezwan Hossain of Zilla School, Rafikul Islam of Model School and College, Nibir of Amrita Lal Dey College, addressed the programme.
The participants observed that the proposed Bangladesh-India joint venture to set up a coal-fired power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat might destroy Sundarban, one of the world’s largest contiguous mangrove http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove forests.
Certain vested quarters are trying to promote the construction of the 1,320 megawatt coal-fired thermal power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat near Bangladesh part of Sundarban, the 50-50 joint venture between Bangladesh Power Development Board and the Indian National Thermal Power Corporation, when India on its side of the Sundarbans is trying to protect the forest.
The speakers also said, the government has already completed preparation for acquiring 2,000 acre of land in the area for construction of the power plant.
If the plant was set up and came into operation, it would severely damage the biodiversity of Sundarban within two years and the farmers of the project area would lose their land.
The project would have a disastrous impact on the forest and its bio-diversity and eco-system and so they called for creating public opinion against the project in the interest of saving the Sundarbans.
The project would also destroy the ingredients of the soil that support the lives of millions of inhabitants of a large region, increase the proportion of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the air, and seriously harm the flora and fauna of Sundarban.
They called upon the authorities to shift the site of a proposed thermal power plant on the fringes of the Sundarbans to protect the pollution of environment and world’s largest mangrove forest from extinction.