Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) at rally in the city on Friday urged the government to cancel the Rampal thermal power plant project, saying it will go against the national interest and harm the Sundarban mangrove forest. The rally also protested the amendment to the Production Sharing Contract (PSC)-2012 terming it ‘contrary to national interest’. CPB leaders Ruhin Hossain Prince, Aniruddha Das Anjan, Khan Asaduzzaman Masum and Tariqul Islam Jehad, among others, addressed the rally organized by CPB Segunbagicha unit in front of the Jatiya Press Club with Pushpen Roy presiding. CPB central leader Ruhin Hossain Prince said the multinational companies are taking advantage of political instability in the country. He alleged that the government ignores national interest to protect the interests of multinational companies and their local agents. Ruhin Hossain Prince said: “To protect the interest of transnational companies, prices of gas purchased from the companies was raised, taxes were waived, percentage of cost recovery limit was increased, and sale of gas to a third party was allowed changing the PSC. “The changes to the PSC go against the national interest and will jeopardize the energy security of the country,” he added. The CPB leader said the country needs to set up big power plants alongside keeping the old power plants in operation to meet the existing power demands. But the government should not set up the Rampal thermal power plant so close to the Sundarbans under an unequal agreement. The plant will cause irreparable harm to the largest mangrove forest of the world. Aniruddha Das Anjan said there are many places in the country to set up power plants. Sundarban is a unique forest. It is a world heritage site which protects the people southern costal-belt from natural disasters. “We should not allow destroying the Sundarbans.” The CPB leaders criticised the main opposition BNP for their silence on such vital national issues and said that thus they are becoming the partners of the government’s anti-national work and of the multinational companies’ interests. They urged the conscious countrymen to make its Dhaka-Sundarban long march from September 24-28 a success with a view to resisting the government move against the national interest. Later, the CPB brought out a procession which paraded the streets of Topkhana, Kakrail, Segunbagicha, Bijoynagar and Purana Paltan. –UNB
