BPDB unware of coal import

The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Division has been irked by recent Indian media report that the first consignment of coal for a thermal power plant being developed by State-owned NTPC Limited through a joint venture in Bangladesh is getting ready at the port in Kolkata and will be shipped to Mongla Port in the neighbouring country in the next 2-3 dayas.  
According to the ministry, the information made it clear that the Indian partner ignored and bypassed Bangladesh's partner BPDB as it has no idea about it.
 Prior to  submission of Bangladesh's position report to UNESCO this month at Beijing conference, such  Indian media report raised question home  and abroad on Bangladesh's promise to keep its position to reduce a carbon emission country.
In response to our correspondent, a senior official on condition of anonymity said,     "We are yet to finalize the tendering process of coal import issue, I'm unaware,"
The 1,320-MW Rampal Power Plant is being built by BIFPC, the joint venture between India's NTPC Limited and Bangladesh Power Development Board. Both the party signed MoU in 2010 and formed BIPCL Company. Bharat Heavy Electrical Company Ltd (BHEL) started the construction work of Rampal power plant in 2016, it deferred the schedule time and again, and however, the final completion date was January 2021.
However, development of the Rampal Power Plant close to Sundarban, a UNESCO world heritage site triggered strong opposition from environmentalists.  
Quoting Mehera as saying,  NDTV broadcast recently "The first full rake of coal has arrived at Kolkata docks from Dhanbad and is now getting unloaded. It will be shipped to Mongla Port in the next 2-3 days for Rampal Power Plant," Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (formerly Kolkata Port Trust) Deputy Chairman A. K. Mehera told PTI, The Hindu wrote. "
Meanwhile, Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company (BIFPC) Authority has issued a press release
on Saturday where it said that it will never use the Indian coal as fuel for the proposed 1320 MW Rampal power Plant.
 "We are set to import coal from Australia, Indonesia, South Africa to run the power plant and the tender process of coal procurement is ongoing," BIFCP release said.
The release means that the company is set to import low quality coal from India for the plant not for running the operation," a senior official of BPDB said.
Economists, environmentalists and rights activists in a joint statement on Friday demanded the stoppage of the import of Indian coal for Rampal coal-fired power plant. They urged both the Bangladeshi and the Indian governments to cancel the initiatives.
They referred to Indian Indian media that the coal from India would be arrived at Mongla Port of Bangladesh From Jharkhand via Kolkata, India, within next two to three days.
'The reason for importing coal is to experiment. Once the unit will run in full capacity, there will be transportation of 20,000 tonnes of coal per month from Kolkata port,' they said.
They said that the pollution from coal burning will badly affect the biodiversity and ecology of the Sunderbans.
Anu Muhammad, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman, Nijera Kori coordinator Khushi Kabir, Association for Land Reform and Development executive director Shamsul Huda,were  among who issued the statement.