Scrap or relocate Rampal project

Demanding the Rampal power plant either be scrapped or relocated from its current location, twelve environment and rights activists said in a statement that the government has been trying to confuse people about the decisions of the World Heritage Committee made during the 41st sessions. 

Actually, in four of the 11 decisions made during the session of Unesco heritage committee, they made it clear that no large-scale industrial or infrastructural development should be allowed to proceed in the vicinity of the Sundarbans before Bangladesh carries out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for its south-west region.

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Expressing their concerns, the activists said in a press release that Unesco never said that they had withdrawn their objections about constructing Rampal thermal power plant near the Sundarbans. Rather they requested the government to fully implement their recommendations.

Citing Unesco decisions that were published recently, the statement said, that Unesco had actually requested Bangladesh to put in place a management system for shipping to minimise the negative impacts. It reiterated its request to Bangladesh to undertake the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for any future dredging of the Pashur river.

In the statement, they said the government has been allowed time until December 1 next year to report on the conservation of the world's largest mangrove forest to the WHC. And the UN organisation would examine the conservation situation at the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee in 2019.  

They demanded the government conduct the SEA study properly.

Unesco, however, noted with concern that sea level rise, salt intrusion and reduction in fresh water flow were posing threats to the Sundarbans' ecosystem and that the area was particularly vulnerable to impact from these threats.

The press release further stated that the decisions  in the 41st session of WHC has proved that the demand for scrapping or relocating Rampal power plant from its current location, raised by scientists, environmentalists and citizens of Bangladesh, was very much logical.

The government has lost its ethical, scientific, political even political logic to construct the Rampal power plant, it added.

The statement was given by advocate Sultana Kamal, Syed Abul Maksud, Rasheda K Chowdhury, Khushi Kabir, Professor Badrul Imam, Professor MM Akash, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, M Shamsul Huda, Ruhin Hossain Prince, Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Sharif Jamil. Dr Abdul Matin signed the statement on behalf of the twelve rights and environment activists and National Committee to Save Sundarbans, the press release said.