Bangladesh observed World Tourism Day on Friday amid concerns of conservationists that a coal-fired power project being implemented at Rampal will have adverse impact on the biodiversity of the Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a key tourist attraction in Bangladesh.
A platform of conservationists, joined by leftist political parties, is leading a “long-march” with the slogan “Save Sundarbans” to Rampal in Bagerhat demanding that the government scrap the coal-based power plant, whose work is set to be inaugurated by the prime minister on October 22.
However, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan has said the government would not do anything that might have adverse effects on the ecology of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, and the conservationists' concerns were misplaced.
“We need electricity and at the same time we need to protect our environment. We would not do anything harming the Sundarbans,” Khan told reporters at Dhaka University’s Teachers-Students Centre (TSC) on Friday after a rally celebrating the World Tourism Day-2013.
Responding to a query, the tourism minister said the government assessed environmental aspects before taking on any development project. “The power plant will be set up far from the Sundarbans and the most modern technology will be used there,” reports UNB.
Citing an example how each person harms the environment, he said: “The environment will be affected to some extent by people.”
Amid the growing demand for its cancellation, the government on Thursday said some individuals and organisations were misleading people through propaganda against the proposed 1320-MM coal-fired Rampal thermal power plant to be built near the Sundarbans.
Faruk Khan said the tourism industry's performance had been improving in recent years, with a growing number of domestic and international tourists.
“The number of tourists was 200,000 a few years back but it was 588,000 last year. We earned Tk60-65m earlier but the earnings stood at Tk100.93m in 2012-2013,” he added.
On Friday, a colourful rally led by the tourism minister was brought out from Ramna Park, ending at the TSC.
Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh; Aviation and Tourism Journalists Forum, Bangladesh; Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh; Ruposhi Bangla Hotel; Regency Dhaka; American International University, Bangladesh; Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation; Bangladesh Tourism Board and Bangladesh Kite Foundation, among others, took part in the rally.
This year’s theme was “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future.”
