Saturday, October 5, 2024

Drop Rampal project by Oct 11

Marchers issue ultimatum to govt
The Dhaka- Sundarban long march ended on Saturday giving the government until October 11 to drop the Rampal thermal power plant project or face a ‘strong movement’.
On the last day of the five day march, activists held a rally at Digraj in Bagherhat and adopted the ‘Sundarban declaration’. The marchers started their return journey to Dhaka on Saturday night.
Speakers at the rally said that fresh protest programmes would be announced on October 12 to save the mangrove forest, if the government did not postpone the foundation laying of the Rampal project by October 11.
The national committee to protect oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports organised the 400-kilometre long march to Sundarban to push for their seven-point demand, including cancellation of the Rampal power project.
Several thousand people joined the rally after the marchers reached Digraj on Saturday evening.
The national committee member-secretary Anu Muhammad read out the declaration which also demanded formulation of a guideline to save Sundarban and its implementation.
‘The deal signed to build a project jointly by Bangladesh Power Development Board and Indian National Thermal Power Corporation is unequal, non-transparent and against the interest of the Bangladesh. The country will incur a loss of Tk 6 lakh crore if the project is implemented,’ said the declaration.
It said the power project would spell disaster on Sundarban that shields Bangladesh from cyclones and tidal surges.
The declaration said, ‘The power plant will produce 52,000 tonnes of poisonous sulphur dioxide, 30,000 tonnes of nitrogen dioxide, 7.5 lakh tonnes of fly ash and two lakh tones of bottom ash a year. About 9,150 cubic metres of water would be withdrawn from Passur river per hour… Transport of coal to Sundarban, discharge of coal, dirt, fuel and other chemicals, sound pollution by frequently sailing large and small ships would destroy the biodiversity of Sundarban.’
The declaration said that the press note the government had issued on Thursday provided ‘false’ information.
The press note said that a segment of people and a few organisations were spreading propaganda against the Rampal power project although the project was ‘incredibly important for the country.’
The government is set to lay the foundation stone of the project on October 22.
The people will throw away the foundation stone if it is laid at Rampal, the declaration said.
The committee’s convener Sheikh Muhammad Saheedullah said the countrymen would ‘resist’ the Rampal project ‘at any cost’.
The marchers left Khulna in the morning and held roadside rallies at Bagherhat, Katakhali and Chunkathi before reaching Digraj in the evening.
People lined the road at places and cheered the marchers as the convoy of buses, pick-up vans, microbuses and other vehicles passed by.
The committee leaders Khalequzzaman, Tipu Biswas, Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed, Mohammad Shah Alam, Bimal Biswas, Mosharraf Hossain Nannu, Saiful Huq, Ruhin Hossain Prince, Zonayed Saki, Ragib Ahsan Munna, Mozammel Haque Tara, Abul Hasan Rubel and others addressed the rallies.
During the long march, artistes of several cultural troupes performed to drum up support for their demands to save Sundarban.
The campaigners highlighted that Sundarban was home to a wide range of plants and animals, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, and its mangrove forests was crucial in protecting the country from storms, tidal surges and rising sea levels.
The marchers on their way to Sundarban, had held rallies at Savar , Manikganj, Rajbari, Faridpur, Jessore and Khulna.
The government in April signed a deal with an Indian company to install a coal-fired thermal power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat, 14 kilometres from Sundarban.
The government has already acquired land from private owners in Rampal on the bank of the River Passur for the installation of the plant.
On July 10, the environment department gave approval to the Environment Impact Assessment Report submitted by the Power Development Board.

-With New Age input

Related News

Bangladeshi expat wins Tk 65 cr in lottery in UAE Big Ticket draw

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladeshi expat Abul Monsur, hailing from Chattogram, has won Dh20 million, or over Tk65 crore, grand prize with the latest Big Ticket draw in the United Arab Emirates. Abul Monsur Abdul Sabur, a 50-year-old based in Abu Dhabi, has been buying the raffle draws’ entries since 2007. In its latest edition, ... Read more

Motorcycle sales tumble to seven-year low

Mahfuz Ullah Babu Rising costs, consumers’ weakening purchasing capacity, and adverse policy treatments blamed The hope of manufacturers for a scaled-up motorcycle market – to reach a million units a year by 2027 – now seems to be fading away. The economic slowdown, coupled with a sharp rise in costs and selling prices, has instead ... Read more

Metro rail to begin operations on Fridays too

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) is set to launch metro rail services on Fridays soon. Currently, the services are closed on Fridays. MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, told media on Monday that the company started preparatory work on the day to start services on ... Read more

Academic activities in all public universities in Bangladesh remain stalled

Shahin Akhter Amid the academic activities coming to a near halt in most public universities triggered by a wave of resignation from top officials, the Secondary and Higher Education Division on Thursday in an order asked the universities tackling the situation to allow a senior teacher to carry out the administrative and finance related tasks ... Read more

Sundarbans to reopen for fishers, tourists from Sept 1

News Desk : dhakamirror.com After nearly three months of closure, the Forest Department will reopen the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO world heritage site from September 1 (Sunday). From that day, fishermen and tourists will be able to enter the world’s largest mangrove forest after obtaining a permit from the Department ... Read more

Govt decreases fuel prices

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government reduced octane and petrol prices by Tk6 per litre, according to a press release by the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources issued today (31 August). Meanwhile, the price of diesel has been reduced by Tk1.25 per litre. Starting tomorrow (1 September), the new price for octane will ... Read more

All educational institutions to reopen on 18 August

News Desk : dhakamirror.com All educational institutions under the education ministry have been instructed to resume academic activities from Sunday, August 18, 2024. The announcement was made through an office order issued by the ministry on Thursday. The order said that following the approval of the chief adviser the educational institutions were instructed to take ... Read more

Interim govt led by Dr Yunus sworn in

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Nobel Peace Prize winner and globally acclaimed economist Professor Muhammad Yunus was sworn-in as the chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh Thursday evening (8 August). President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to the 17-member interim government. Leaders of various political parties including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiyo Party, Krishak ... Read more

Dr Yunus to lead the interim government

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus will be the chief adviser of the interim government, said a press release of Bangabhaban yesterday. The decision came after a meeting on the formation of the interim government between key organisers of the anti-discriminatory movement and President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The heads of the three armed ... Read more

Mainul Islam made new IGP

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government on Tuesday appointed Traffic and Driving School commandant Md Moinul Islam as the new inspector general of police. Public Security Division of the home ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Tuesday. The decision came a day after the fall of Sheikh Hasina government amid mass uprising ... Read more

Curfew to end on Tuesday morning; all offices, educational institutions set to open

News Desk : dhakamirror.com An ongoing curfew will be in effect from Monday midnight until 6am on Tuesday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate. Starting Tuesday morning, all government, semi-government, autonomous, semi-autonomous, private institutions, factories, schools, colleges, madrasas, universities and all educational institutions in Bangladesh will remain open, a press release of the ISPR ... Read more

Internet likely to face disruption for 12 hours today

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Internet connectivity in Bangladesh will face partial disruption for 12 hours from this morning because of maintenance of 1st submarine cable, said Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) in a press release. The statement said from 6:01 am to 6:00 pm, the consortium has scheduled maintenance for a land cable fault near ... Read more

Chess Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passes away

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passed away at a hospital in the city after suffering a heart attack during the 12th round game of the ongoing National Chess Championship at the Chess Federation on Friday. Zia bhai is no more. He breathed his last at around 6:00pm at Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital,’ confirmed ... Read more

Ending GPA-5 era, SSC results to be published with English letter grades

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams will no longer be evaluated under the Grade Point Average 1-5 scale but rather be graded with English letters. A meeting of the National Curriculum Coordination Committee with the Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury approved the new evaluation framework on Monday (1 July). “There are ... Read more

Over 1.04 crore animals sacrificed on Eid-ul-Adha this year

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A total of 1,04,08,918 animals were sacrificed across the country on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Azha this year. As many as 3, 67, 106 more animals were slaughtered this year compared to previous year, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock said in a press release on Tuesday. This year the ... Read more

9am-5pm office time to resume from Wednesday

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The public offices across Bangladesh are set to go back to old office timing from 9:00am to 5:00pm with Fridays and Saturdays being the weekly holidays as usual from Wednesday. The cabinet in its weekly meeting on June 3 decided restoring the old office timing between 9:00am and 5:00pm on weekdays ... Read more

5 magnitude earthquake jolts parts of Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A magnitude 5 earthquake jolted a large part of the country on Sunday (2 June) afternoon., including Dhaka. The quake struck at 2:44pm from a depth of about 110km, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, and was centred in the Mawlaik area of Myanmar, 441 km southeast of Dhaka. The quake ... Read more

Over 2cr to be fed as daylong Vitamin ‘A’ plus campaign begins

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The National Vitamin A-plus campaign is being conducted with a target to feed the capsules to over 2.22 crore children, aged between six months and 59 months. The campaign started at 8am on Saturday (June 1) and will continue till 4pm. Feeding Vitamin A capsules prevents blindness in children, ensures normal ... Read more

Postponed notice fake, HSC exams on June 30 as per schedule

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams will be held on time as per previous announcement, beginning on 30 June. The routine deferring the exams for a month that is making rounds in social media, is fake, the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka said on Saturday. A circular ... Read more

3 month-long ban on fishing, tourism in Sundarbans begins

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The forest department has imposed this three-month ban on fishing and tourism in the Sundarbans. Local communities, including fishermen, wood and honey collectors, who depend on the Sundarbans for their livelihoods, are concerned about a three-month ban on all activities in the forest starting Saturday. The restriction applies to visitors, including ... Read more