Open-pit coalmining in northwest not possible: Matia

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury on Thursday said open-pit coalmining in the country’s northwestern region is not possible as it may cause a huge displacement.

“Where will we dump the huge mass of soil needs to be removed for the coal extraction? It’ll create mountainous heaps of soil across a vast area in the surrounding and induce the displacement of a huge number of people,” she said.

The minister was addressing the inaugural session of a workshop on rural mechanisation, organised by the Planning Commission in association with Brac at Brac Centre.

Matia said coal-driven power generation is much cheaper compared to any alternatives available, such as diesel-driven or solar power generation, but the extraction of coal will also lead to huge displacement.

She also noted that the government is discouraging excessive extraction of groundwater in the northwest in response to the drastic decline of the groundwater table.

Matia said both the public and the private sectors must think anew about the dependency on groundwater irrigation in the agriculture of the northwest.

“I’m absolutely against the use of deep tube-wells,” she said, adding that the government right now is not entertaining the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) with the permission to set new deep tube-wells.

Indiscriminate use of groundwater in the irrigation has led to the reduction of water layer and introduced arsenic, she observed.

Matia also noted that the country has to rely on solar and nuclear powers to meet its future energy demands. “Solar power and nuclear power – these two are the solutions to the energy problem in the coming days,” she said.

The Agriculture Minister, however, said the cost of solar panels must be reduced if the government is to support the expansion of its use in the farming.

She called on the manufacturers to put in efforts in research and development activities to make the solar panels cheaper and simpler so that the government can subsidise the expansion to small farmers.

Moderated by Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman, the session was also addressed by Planning Commission member MA Sattar Mandal and Brac executive director Mahbub Hossain. UNB

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