half-day hartal of national comittee to protect oil, gas over rampal project

BNP extends support

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday extended support to the half-day-long hartal called by the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports on January 26. The hartal has been called to assert the national committee's demand to cancel the Rampal power plant project close to the Sundarbans, the world's biggest mangrove forest. BNP joint secretary general Rizvi Ahmed made this announcement at a press conference at the party headquarters at Naya Paltan in the city. “The national committee has been agitating for a long time. It has called a half-day-long hartal on January 26. We extend our all-out support to the hartal in the interest of the country and its people,” he said. Rizvi said the Rampal power plant would hurt the Sundarbans and make the air poisonous. “It's our collective responsibility to protect the Sundarbans,” he added. BNP leaders Abdus Salam, Ataur Rahman Dhali, Abul khair Bhuiyan and Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anie, among others, were present on the occasion. Earlier, on November 26, Anu Muhammed, member secretary of the national committee, announced that they would enforce a half-day-long (6:00am-2:00pm) hartal in Dhaka if the government did not scrap the Rampal power plant project. Bangladesh and India have jointly been carrying out construction works for the 1,320MW coal power plant project at Rampal in Bagerhat. A number of Left-leaning organisations, including the national committee, have been opposing the project from the very beginning due to its proximity to the Sundarbans.
Environmentalists claim that with the realisation of the power plant project, the eco-system of the Sundarbans, a UNESCO-declared world heritage, would come under severe threat. However, the government, particularly Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, provided data and reports in support of the implementation of the power plant project at Rampal. Despite this, the UNESCO remains firm against the project and has requested the Bangladesh government to cancel and relocate the project to a more suitable place. On August 24 last year, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had demanded the cancellation of the coal-fired Rampal power plant project for the sake of the country’s ecological balance and natural beauty. Bangladesh and India signed a deal in 2009 to set up two power plants in Shapmari and Katakhali, nine km away from the Sundarbans. The government has already acquired a total of 1,834 acres of land for the power plants with a capacity of 1,320 megawatt of electricity.

 

half-day hartal of national comittee to protect oil, gas over rampal project

BNP extends support

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday extended support to the half-day-long hartal called by the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports on January 26. The hartal has been called to assert the national committees demand to cancel the Rampal power plant project close to the Sundarbans, the worlds biggest mangrove forest. BNP joint secretary general Rizvi Ahmed made this announcement at a press conference at the party headquarters at Naya Paltan in the city. The national committee has been agitating for a long time. It has called a half-day-long hartal on January 26. We extend our all-out support to the hartal in the interest of the country and its people, he said. Rizvi said the Rampal power plant would hurt the Sundarbans and make the air poisonous. Its our collective responsibility to protect the Sundarbans, he added. BNP leaders Abdus Salam, Ataur Rahman Dhali, Abul khair Bhuiyan and Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anie, among others, were present on the occasion. Earlier, on November 26, Anu Muhammed, member secretary of the national committee, announced that they would enforce a half-day-long (6:00am-2:00pm) hartal in Dhaka if the government did not scrap the Rampal power plant project. Bangladesh and India have jointly been carrying out construction works for the 1,320MW coal power plant project at Rampal in Bagerhat. A number of Left-leaning organisations, including the national committee, have been opposing the project from the very beginning due to its proximity to the Sundarbans. Environmentalists claim that with the realisation of the power plant project, the eco-system of the Sundarbans, a UNESCO-declared world heritage, would come under severe threat. However, the government, particularly Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, provided data and reports in support of the implementation of the power plant project at Rampal. Despite this, the UNESCO remains firm against the project and has requested the Bangladesh government to cancel and relocate the project to a more suitable place. On August 24 last year, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had demanded the cancellation of the coal-fired Rampal power plant project for the sake of the countrys ecological balance and natural beauty. Bangladesh and India signed a deal in 2009 to set up two power plants in Shapmari and Katakhali, nine km away from the Sundarbans. The government has already acquired a total of 1,834 acres of land for the power plants with a capacity of 1,320 megawatt of electricity.