BNP expresses solidarity with anti-Rampal 'Dhaka march' by National Oil, Gas Protection Committee

The BNP says it supports the 'Dhaka march' programme protesting the Rampal Power Plant near the Sundarbans.

The National Committee for the Protection of Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, commonly referred to as the 'Oil Gas Committee', announced the programme this week.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters on Thursday that his party supported the demonstration.

His remarks come a day after BNP chief Khaleda Zia demanded that the power plant be moved away from Rampal in Bagerhat.

Mirza Fakhrul, however, said on Thursday that the BNP was yet to decide whether to take to the streets in protest of the plant near the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest of the world.

"That depends on the government's response. We have raised a demand and are now waiting to see how the government responds to it," said the senior BNP leader.

Bangladesh has signed a deal with India to set up the 1,300-megawatt thermal power plant.

The two countries will have equal partnership in the venture, styled Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd.

Leftist parties have been opposing the deal, saying that the coal-fired power plant will threaten the ecological balance of the Sundarbans.

The government, however, insists that proper measures will be taken to protect the environment from pollution.

During a sit-in protest at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka on Aug 20, the Oil Gas Committee gave the government until Nov 23 to meet their demands.

It announced a two-day march to Dhaka on Nov 24 and 25 as well as a rally in the capital on Nov 26.