Experts have come up with an assurance that the Rampal coal-fired power plant would, in no way, pollute the country's mangrove forest Sundarbans.
They have said that there is no scientific or technical basis of the campaign being carried out by different groups that construction of the proposed Rampal power plant would cause a colossal damage to the largest mangrove forests of the world.
The engineering and technical experts from the BUET having vast experiences at home and abroad gave their bold statements that the proposed power plant would not harm the environment due to use of modern equipment in this project.
Their assurance came at a seminar today at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) on Environmental aspects of Rampal Coal-fired power plant: Myth verses Reality.
Assistant Professor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dr Kazi Bayzid Kabir presented the keynote paper bringing forth various related components. He said the power plant would not harm the mangrove forests as it would be located far away from the Sundarbans, adding, "It would be a super ultra critical power plant."
"The government would use quality coal in the plant and the coal would be transported by covered ships along with covered conveyer belts," Bayzid added.
In his paper, he said that produced fly ash amounting five lakh tonnes a year would be controlled, while demand is now for 23 lakh tonnes from the buyers. "Every safety measure is included in the tender documents for ensuring environment."
Bayzid Kabir said the produced mercury would be around 0.008 milligram against per meter cube and the safety measures taken by the government for the plant are very high.
IEB organised the seminar with its chairman Engineer M Hamidul Hoque in the chair, while Engineer M Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan, president of IEB delivered his speech as the special guest.
Engineer M Abdus Sabur gave the address of welcome and said, "We have to continue our development process to build modern and developed Bangladesh through construction of coal-fired power plants." 
He mentioned that many developed countries constructed coal-fired power plants at crowded areas as well as central zones. "The Sundarbans area would not be affected after construction of the Ultra Super Critical Rampal coal- fired power plant as the government has given the highest priority to preparing the Environmental Impact Assessment-EIA report to assess the environmental impact of the project," he said.
Vice chairman of IEB Dr engineer MM Siddique also took part in the discussion, according to BSS.
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Source: The Financial Express