The long march by the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports is now on its way to Rampal in Bagherhat in protest against the proposed coal-fired power plant and to save the Sundarban from environmental pollution.
The marchers, who set out from Dhaka on September 24 in a motorcade, will hold a public rally at Digraj, the site of the proposed plant on the fringes of the Sundarban, the world’s largest mangrove forest. They would also read out the ‘Sundarban Declaration’ on Friday afternoon.
The marchers reached Khulna Sadar in the afternoon after holding two wayside rallies at Fultala and Daulatpur in the suburban town of Khulna city.
Bagherhat superintendent of police Md Nizamul Haque Molla told The Independent that the authorities have given permission to the protesters to hold a public rally at Digraj.
“We have received a letter from a member of the national committee to allow them to hold a rally at Digraj. But we’ve asked them not to hold the rally on the road so that traffic is not disrupted,” he added. He, however, said the authorities would provide assistance to the marchers.
Earlier, convenor of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, Engineer Sheikh Shahidullah, said the government is not seeking any alternative site where it can produce electricity; rather it wants to destroy the Sundarban by setting up the Rampal thermal power plant.
“There are many other alternative ways to produce electricity and many other alternative sites to set up power plants. But the government is trying to hatch a conspiracy to destroy the Sundarban in order to be subservient to Indian hegemony,” he claimed on Friday.
He made the remarks at a road rally at the Fultala bus stand in Khulna, demanding implementation of the seven-point charter of demands, including cancellation of the proposed Rampal power plant at the site of the Sundarban.
“The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in India has been rejected by governments of three states when it tried to set up such plants. The same corporation has taken up this project to destroy the Sundarban in the name of producing electricity. People should be aware of this,” Shahidullah
said. Regarding a solution to the power crisis, he said, “We want a solution to the power crisis. We have to take sustainable initiatives to resolve the crisis, but the government is taking a disastrous path to please local and foreign quarters.”
Earlier, the protesters participating in the long march left Jessore at 9am and entered Daulatpur in Khulna at around 2pm.
People from all walks of life welcomed the marchers, standing on both sides of the road, when they started for Khulna. The marchers distributed booklets and leaflets among the local people to make them aware about the proposed power plant in Rampal.
-With The Independent input
