Unconvinced by the government’s assurance to ensure that the proposed coal-fired power plant in Rampal has minimal environmental impacts on the nearby Sundarbans, experts and environmentalists reiterated their concerns yesterday. They said the government was saying the world’s largest mangrove forest would be safe, as it would lie 10km off, but what impacts it would have depends on the amount of coal to be burnt to produce 1,320 megawatts of power in the first phase and another 1,320MW in the second phase.
“The plant faces the biggest confusion here,” said M Shamsul Alam, energy adviser of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) at a bilateral discussion between the citizens’ group and government representatives, organised by the CAB at Dhaka Reporters Unity.
Four experts–Prof Badrul Imam and Prof Tanjim Uddin of Dhaka University, Prof Mushfiq Ahmed of Rajshahi University, and Shamsul Alam of Daffodil University–represented the citizens.
On the government side were four officials–Monowar Islam, power secretary; Anwar Hossain, joint secretary of Power Division; Mohammad Hossain, director general of Power Cell; and Khandaker Azizur Rahman, consultant at Power Development Board.
The citizens’ group said the proposed deep-sea port at Sonadia was relocated considering the port eco-sensitive, as it was close to the Sundarbans, but the same was not done for Rampal. They also said the impacts of coal transportation through the Pashur river had not been analysed.
“So, the claims of the Department of Environment (DoE) that measures in line with their recommendations will protect the environment and the Sundarbans do not hold,” said Shamsul.
He said the computer simulation model to be used to take measures to mitigate the pollutants churning out of the plant did not have a realistic basis and that no feasibility study was conducted on coal transportation through the sea.
The government delegation said all modern measures would be in place to mitigate the impacts.
“The government is committed to using the super-critical technology, which everybody treats as a green technology. So, the plant will have no impacts on the Sundarbans,” said Power Secretary Monowar Islam.
“Not a single iota of coal will drop in the river, as they will be brought in covered ships and will be unloaded in a covered system.” He said hundreds of ships were currently plying the Pashur daily, and just one more ship would be added.
DU economics professor MM Akash moderated the programme.
-With The Daily Star input
