The National Committee to Protect Oil-Gas-Mineral Resources, Power and Ports started its scheduled long-march programme from Dhaka to the Sundarbans on Tuesday morning in protest of government plans to install the plant in Rampal.
The committee started its long-march in front of the national press club at 10:55am.
The platform claims that the government has been conducting the project just 14km from the Sundarbans to “please India.” The project will use a technology that in India is prohibited from being employed within 25km of any forest.
Before starting the march, the committee – in association with a number of left-wing parties including Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) and Gono Sanghati Andolon – organised the rally around 10am.
The committee members also held a roadside rally in front of the collapsed Rana Plaza site at about 1:30pm.
They left the site around 2:00pm for Manikganj, where they were they held another rally in the evening.
The protesters are also scheduled to hold rallies at Faridpur, Jessore and Khulna on their way to Rampal.
The march will end with a rally at Digraj in Rampal upazila on September 28.
The 1,320MW power plant project will be constructed in a 50-50 partnership between Bangladesh and the NTPC, the Indian state-owned power generation company. Three agreements were signed in April regarding the project, which is to begin operations in 2017.
To install the plant, the government has already acquired 1,834 acres of land from private owners in Rampal, Bagerhat, on the banks of the river Pashur. The government claims that the plant will not harm the forest as it will use modern technology and a lot of money will be spent on environmental management. At present, land-filling work is underway at the site and the prime minister is expected to inaugurate the construction work early next month.