Protests Over Rampal Plant
Admin bans gathering
The National Committee to Protect Sundarban on Saturday could not hold its demonstrations against the installation of a coal-fired power plant near the mangrove forest at Rampal in Bagerhat as the local administration imposted restrictions.
The upazila administration banned all sorts of meetings, gatherings and demonstrations at Rampal from 8:00am till 12 midnight on Saturday following announcement of separate programmes by two groups for and against the power plant installation.
The upazila nirbahi officer, Zillur Rahman, on Saturday ordered Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, prohibiting assembly of five or more people, holding of public meetings, and carrying of firearms in and around Faila Bazar in the upazila till Saturday midnight to head off trouble.
The Rampal unit Awami League announced the programme apparently after the Sundarban protection committee announced the demonstrations against the power plant installation.
The National Committee to Protect Sundarban earlier announced that it would go on demonstrations in the Faila bus stand crossing at 9:00am on Saturday in protest against the government move to set up the plant near Sundarban.
The Rampal unit Awami League president, Sheikh Abdul Wahab, afterwards announced a rally in support of the power plant installation at the place at the same time.
The power secretary, Monwar Islam, visited the site on the day. Lawmaker Habibur Nahar, Bangladesh Diesel Plant Limited managing director Murshedul Huq and Rampal upazila council
chairman Molla Abdur Rouf were also present.
The New Age correspondent in Bagerhat said that leaders of the National Committee to Protect Sundarban organised a news conference at Rampal in protest at the ban on gathering.
The platform’s secretary general Md Abdul Matin said that they wanted the power plant but not near Sundarban.
The police in Dhaka, meanwhile, foiled a march of the national committee to protect oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports headed towards Motijheel in the Purana Paltan crossing.
The organisation began the march near the National Press Club to drum up support for its five-day Dhaka–Rampal long march scheduled for September 24–28 in protest at the installation of the plant near Sundarban.
The organisation’s member secretary Anu Mohammad condemned the imposition of the ban on gathering at Rampal and the police attack on their procession in Dhaka.
He told New Age that it showed the government’s harsh attitude towards the programmes to save Sundarban.
The organisation’s leaders said that the Rampal power plant was a conspiracy to destroy Sundarban and to meet the ‘greed of Indian companies.’
Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company, a joint venture between the Power Development Board of Bangladesh and NTPC Ltd of India with shares halved between them, is implementing the 1320MW power project at Rampal.
-With New Age input
