RAMPAL POWER PROJECT : Critics invited to accompany Nasrul to visit site

State minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid has invited major critics to accompany him to a visit to the site of coal-fired power plant project near the Sunderbans at Rampal in Bagerhat.
He sent a letter in the past week requesting top organisers environmental and rights organisations and two academics to visit the site of 1,320MW power plant project with him on November 19.
‘I want to visit Rampal area along with you…We would be able to learn about the biodiversity of Rampal, the Sunderbans, Pashur River and adjacent areas,’ said the letter.
Abdul Matin of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan, Syeda Rizwana Hasan of Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association, Sultana Kamal of Sunderbans Rakkha Jatiya Committee, Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah, Anu Muhammad and Kollol Mostofa of National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port, Iftekharuzzaman of Transparency International Bangladesh and energy experts Ijaz Hossain of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Shamsul Alam of Daffodil University received the invitation.
The state-minister’s move came amidst continuous protests against the project from different quarters including environmentalists, rights activists and experts.
According to the protesters and critics, the coal-fired power plant near the Sunderbans would destroy the biodiversity of the world’s largest mangrove forest.
The oil-gas body at a press conference on Thursday said that they were interested to visit the project site along with the state minister and to join further dialogue if the government suspended the project and stopped the ‘propaganda’ about it.
Member-secretary of the body Anu Muhammad, also a member of Sunderbans Rakkha Committee, said that it seemed that the government wanted to initiate discussion on the feasibility of the project while the implementation of the project was going on.
Anu also said that the Sunderbans Rakkha Committee would organise a national convention to be attended by the protesters from different districts on Saturday.
Abdul Matin, Iftekharuzzaman, Ijaz Hossain and Shamsul Alam had consented to join the tour while Sultana Kamal would not be available in the country on the day, power division officials said.
BELA would send a representative as its executive director Syeda Rizwana Hasan would not available in the country, said Rizwana.
Earlier, a Bangladesh-India joint venture engaged in implementing the project, organised a visit of a group of Bangladeshi journalists to two coal-fired power projects in India in the past year.

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