Scrap Rampal power plant project: Khaleda
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has demanded that the government cancel the coal-fired Rampal power plant, for the sake of the countrys ecological balance and natural beauty.
Different studies show that if the Rampal power plant is set up on the bank of the Poshur river and so near the Sunderbans, the ecological balance will be destroyed and its adverse impact will be long-term, she said, while addressing a press conference at her Gulshan office yesterday.
She said even after evidence being produced against the project, the government is not only ignoring them, but is going ahead faster to implement the project. It proves that being autocratic, the government does not care about the public opinion and interest of the country, she said.
The former premier termed the decision to set up the 1,320 megawatt power plant as anti-state and anti-people, and said the government is imposing the decision on the people.
On behalf of the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance, she made a clarion call to the people to raise their voice in favour of the demand to cancel the Rampal project.
The BNP chairperson, surrounded by 20-party leaders, however, did not announce any programme against the Rampal project.
In her written statement, she gave a scientific explanation as to how the Sunderbans, the mangrove forest, would be affected due to the adverse impact of the power plant.
Our beloved native land will become unlivable, if the air in the southern part of the country becomes toxic and the natural barrier, the Sunderbans, is destroyed, she observed.
The BNP chairperson argued that there are many alternatives of power generation and places to set up a power plant, but there is no alternative to the Sunderbans.
She also cited several disadvantages of the Rampal power plant. Claiming that the project was a non-profitable one, she said the Bangladesh Power Development Board and the Indian company, the NTPC, will each invest 15 per cent of the total cost, while the rest of 70 per cent funds will come from bank loans. But Bangladesh alone would have to repay the loan, if the joint venture is closed or the loan is not repaid for some reason.
On the other hand, she said the neat profit will be shared by the two sides at a cost of 100 per cent damage to Bangladeshs environment. The Indian company will be allowed to take back their profit without paying any tax.
She said people are questing as to why and in whose interest the government is going ahead with such a project. The government has no answer, and that is why it resorted to beating up people who are opposed to the project.
She claimed that the government has undertaken the loss project without taking the countrys environmental disaster into consideration.
Khaleda agreed that generation of power for rapid industrialisation, economic emancipation, and meeting public demand is necessary, and said it is the responsibility of the government to take necessary steps in this regard.
But there is no scope to sacrifice public and national interest to implement such an initiative and the government doesnt have the right to do this, she added.
The BNP chief suggested that the government should explore alternative sources of power and energy, like small gas generator power plant, hydro-power, bio-gas project and solar energy.
She said if the project in implemented, it would destroy the natural barrier of the southern region, biodiversity, threaten the livelihood of people, contaminate the water and the environment, and destroy land and fishing resources.
The stubborn stand of the government to implement the economically non-profitable project is not only suspicious, but very alarming for the people, she said.
