By Special Correspondent >>
The government on Monday requested Germany to assist Bangladesh to extract coal by the open-pit mining method. The commerce minister, Faruk Khan, called upon the German ambassador, Holger Michael, to provide some expert advice as the government is still in doubt about the possible impact of open-pit mining on the environment.
Holger met Faruk at his secretariat office and discussed investment in the renewable energy sector and dredging to deepen the rivers and increase their navigability. 'We are examining the pros and cons of open-pit mining in the country which is densely populated and suffers from scarcity of land,' Faruk Khan reportedly told Holger. Holger said that the German government would provide all technological and investment support to Bangladesh through the GTZ, the German technical agency.
From the very beginning of Awamileague government, a move regarding this, has been underway to use the open-pit mining system in the country, and the UK-based company, Asia Energy, has demanded to get permission to use the open-pit mining system at Phulbari coal field in Dinajpur.
State minister for environment Hasan Mahmud visited Germany on September 6-9, reportedly to acquire some knowledge of open-pit mining and coal-based power plants. An official of the environment ministry, who had accompanied the minister, told reporters on Monday that the minister's visit was arranged by the GTZ and they had visited many coal-mines and power plants including that of German company RWE.
The official said that after Hasan Mahmud's visit, he submitted a report to the government saying that they had seen nothing wrong in open-pit mining in Germany and that it was successfully generating electricity from coal. 'We have collected still pictures, videos and other materials in favour of open-pit mining. We have seen that Germany was doing a tremendous job in operating open-pit mines. The RWE is producing around 7,000MW of electricity from the coal from two mines. We have seen nothing wrong with open-pit mining, but some people in Bangladesh are against the system as they do not want the development of the country,' said official of the environment ministry.
The energy ministry last month recommended that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina allow open-pit mining at Barapukuria coal-field, and she told the ministry to carry out a detailed study and present the findings to her after which she will decide what to do.