Staff Reporter :The signing of a coal based power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat district would be remembered as a sad day in the history of Bangladesh,’ said Emajuddin Ahamed, former Vice- Chancellor of Dhaka University.The signing is a part of international conspiracy to destroy the lone mangrove forest of Bangladesh, he said. A round table discussion on “Sundarbans is one: Our responsibility to protect” was organized by Save the Sundarbans Foundation at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity auditorium in the city on Friday. Professor Emajuddin passed the remark as the chief guest, while Dr Sheikh Faridul Islam, Chairman of the Foundation, presided over the programme.Syed Tosharaf Ali, Secretary General of Manik Mia Foundation, Dr Abdul Matin, General Secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA) and Advocate Humayun Kabir Bulbul delivered lectures. “The agreement of setting up of a coal-based power plant at Rampal adjacent to the Sundarbans will clearly destroy the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest. People are not aware of the deal’s lasting consequence, Emajuddin said. The plan came from beyond the international borders. It will be implemented under the supervision of foreigners. So, it is clear that it is a conspiracy to destroy the Sundarbans, he added. The power plant should be shifted to another place for saving the nature, the environment and the ecological balance, he suggested. Syed Tosharaf Ali said, the Sundarbans is being affected in several ways. A joint venture initiative should be taken by India and Bangladesh for protecting the ecological balance. Environmentalists from the both countries should arrange bilateral meeting in this regard above politics, he opined. The Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd signed the agreement with India’s state-run Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) on the 13th July 2016.
