'Formulate coal policy to end energy crisis'

14 June 2010, 18:00 PM

DU Correspondent

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad yesterday urged the government to extract coal from four mines in the Rangpur division and produce coal-fired electricity to ensure adequate power supply to the region. It is not possible to achieve expected development in the region because of power crisis, he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar at a function at Cirdap auditorium in the capital. At the seminar, Ershad said the government should formulate coal policy soon to resolve the energy crisis across the country. The vision 2021 of the government cannot be fulfilled without adequate supply of gas and electricity to the place where it is needed, he added. Rangpur Division Unnayan Parishad organised the seminar titled 'Electricity and energy sector of Bangladesh: Proposal of Rangpur division'. “We [the people of Rangpur region] are lagging behind others, as we do not get adequate supply of energy... We need gas and electricity for development,” Ershad told reporters. “If we get gas supply and can generate electricity, we would not need to depend on others,” he said. “We want to know from the government when the people of Rangpur will receive gas supply,” he said, adding that the financial conditions of farmers in the region have changed, as a number of roads and bridges were constructed to facilitate communications. About the government's target to eliminate power outages by 2012, Ershad said, “It would be a tough job, but it is possible.” At the beginning of the seminar, a gala reception was accorded to Musa Ibrahim, the first Bangladeshi Everest conqueror. Ershad presented a crest to Musa, who hails from Rangpur division. State Minister for Land Advocate Mostafizur Rahman, Engineer Md Fazlul Haque, Md Nazrul Islam, lawmaker Tipu Munshi attended the programme.