Staff Reporter :
Power generation from the Barapukuria thermal power plant will be shut down by July 25 due to acute shortage of coal.
Confirming the news on Sunday, an official of BPDB said that the plant could operate until July 25 using its coal reserves.
The daily coal requirement of the power plant is around 4000 metric tons, which is to be supplied by the Barapukuria Coal Mine for optimal operation. But the mine has a slew of problems recently that created the crisis, sources said.
Chief Engineer of Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant Abdul Hakim told the media that the plant would be shut down in a few days due to the coal shortage. Coal production at the mine is presently halted, aggravating the crisis, he said. There are three units of the power plant. Of them, only one unit is currently producing electricity, one has been shut down for an overhaul, and the other remains out of operation due to lack of coal.
Meanwhile, there are allegations that 1.42 lakh metric tons of coal, which were supposed to be reserved for the Barapukuria thermal power plant, worth around Tk227 crore, was illegally sold.
Barapukuria coal mine Managing Director Engineer Md Habib Uddin Ahmed and Secretary (GS Administration) have been withdrawn by Petrobangla because of the irregularities that triggered the coal shortage.
Mining Department General Manager ATS Nuruzzaman Chowdhury and Deputy General Manager Md Khademul have been temporarily suspended over the disaster.