Staff Reporter :
The UN’s culture and science agency UNESCO unveiled report saying that there was a high chance pollution from the coal-fired power plant would “irreversibly damage” the ecosystem of Sundarbans, which straddle the border of India and Bangladesh.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has urged Bangladesh to halt construction of the plant near the Sundarbans, warning of a serious threat to endangered Bengal tigers and rare dolphins of the world’s largest mangrove forest.
It also provides a barrier against storm surges and cyclones that have killed thousands of people in impoverished coastal villages and islands in recent years, says UNESCO in a report published on Tuesday.
The plant’s construction would result in a substantial increase in shipping and dredging in the area.
It recommended that the plant be relocated “to a more suitable location, where it would not impact negatively on the Sundarbans”.
The present site is just 14 kilometres (nine miles) north of the Sundarbans.
The planned 1,320 megawatt Rampal plant, a joint project by India and Bangladesh, would be powered each year by nearly five million tons of coal transported by boat along the ecosystem’s fragile waterways.
Scheduled to open in 2018, the plant would also discharge nearly 125,000 cubic metres a day of chemically-tainted water used to cool generators, according to design specifications.
“UNESCO has done a responsible job,” said Anu Mohammad, a university professor who has been leading the campaign against the power plant.
UNESCO has asked the government for a progress report by December on the state of conservation of the section of the Sundarbans that is a World Heritage site.
In its report it said the forest was also threatened by the construction of the Farakka Barrage on the river Ganges in the Indian state of West Bengal, which was reducing the flow of fresh water.
Athree representatives from World Heritage Center and International Conservation Union (IUCN) made the report visiting the spot.
They alleged that the project did not heed the instructions of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) provided by IUCN.
The plant did not follow the international standards for using technology at it, they commented.
UNESCO declared it World Heritage Site in 1997.
The UN’s culture and science agency UNESCO unveiled report saying that there was a high chance pollution from the coal-fired power plant would “irreversibly damage” the ecosystem of Sundarbans, which straddle the border of India and Bangladesh.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has urged Bangladesh to halt construction of the plant near the Sundarbans, warning of a serious threat to endangered Bengal tigers and rare dolphins of the world’s largest mangrove forest.
It also provides a barrier against storm surges and cyclones that have killed thousands of people in impoverished coastal villages and islands in recent years, says UNESCO in a report published on Tuesday.
The plant’s construction would result in a substantial increase in shipping and dredging in the area.
It recommended that the plant be relocated “to a more suitable location, where it would not impact negatively on the Sundarbans”.
The present site is just 14 kilometres (nine miles) north of the Sundarbans.
The planned 1,320 megawatt Rampal plant, a joint project by India and Bangladesh, would be powered each year by nearly five million tons of coal transported by boat along the ecosystem’s fragile waterways.
Scheduled to open in 2018, the plant would also discharge nearly 125,000 cubic metres a day of chemically-tainted water used to cool generators, according to design specifications.
“UNESCO has done a responsible job,” said Anu Mohammad, a university professor who has been leading the campaign against the power plant.
UNESCO has asked the government for a progress report by December on the state of conservation of the section of the Sundarbans that is a World Heritage site.
In its report it said the forest was also threatened by the construction of the Farakka Barrage on the river Ganges in the Indian state of West Bengal, which was reducing the flow of fresh water.
Athree representatives from World Heritage Center and International Conservation Union (IUCN) made the report visiting the spot.
They alleged that the project did not heed the instructions of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) provided by IUCN.
The plant did not follow the international standards for using technology at it, they commented.
UNESCO declared it World Heritage Site in 1997.
