'Develop local expertise for coal extraction'
Oil, gas protection body leaders say in Debiganj
Leaders of National Oil, Gas, Power, Mineral resources and Port Protection Committee at a meeting yesterday urged extraction of coal from Phulbari coalmine by developing local expertise and ensuring its use for domestic purpose.
Allowing foreign companies for extraction of coal and letting them use it for their benefit will not bring any good for the country, they said at a seminar on “Development of north and maximum utilisation of mineral resources for national interest”
Debiganj upazila unit of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Power Port Protection Committee organized the seminar at Debiganj College auditorium in Panchagarh.
The caretaker government should postpone the decision to extract coal from Phulbari coalmine until development of our domestic organisation with skilled manpower, speakers said at the discussion.
People's consent is a must for extracting coal as implementation of Phulbari coalmine project by foreign companies will threaten regional environment, they said.
With lowering of water level, huge agricultural land will be made uncultivable.
Destruction of huge natural resources for limited benefit cannot be allowed, they said, adding that there is no example in the whole world of destroying cultivable land for extracting coal.
It is unfortunate that some foreign diplomats and officials of international organisations are advocating and lobbying for allowing multinational companies to extract coal from Phulbari coalminme, said Prof Anu Muhammad.
Exploration for and extraction of coal resources should be done through state-owned bodies, he said.
“If Petrobangla and its subsidiary companies can successfully perform their tasks, then why similar state-owned companies would not be successful in doing the same task in the coal sector?” he posed a question.
As per national requirement coal would be extracted as much as needed by the
State-owned companies will extract coal as per requirement of the country but it cannot be used for the benefits of exploiter multinational companies, he said.
Trouble faced during extraction of coal through underground mining at Barapukuria coalmine is manageable by filling the gap with sand but open pit mining is much more dangerous for people and environment in the area, said Engineer Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah, convener of the central committee.
Anamul Haque, convener of Debiganj upazila unit of Oil, Gas, Power, Mineral Resources and Port Protection Committee, chaired the meeting where Noor Muhammad, member of the central committee, Monirul Haque, member secretary of Debiganj upazila unit, spoke among others.
Later the leaders of National Oil, Gas, Power, Mineral resources and Port Protection Committee answered questions from the audience.
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