RE: By this rationale25 Mar 2025 09:23
From 9th March 2025 another view! IMHO DYOR
‘The project would destroy some 12,000 hectares of productive agricultural land, waterways supporting 1,000 fisheries, and nearly 50,000 fruit trees, as the mine is located in Bangladesh’s most fertile agricultural land, the UN experts had noted.
The International Accountability Project earlier estimated that 800 million litres of groundwater would need to be lifted to maintain dry condition in the mine, which has deposits at the depth between 150 and 260 metres.
The International Accountability Project also cited the departure of the Australia-based mining giant BHP Billiton from the mine after concluding that the depth of the coal deposits would make mining activity so destructive that it would not be feasible to comply with Australia’s environmental standards or those of any country worldwide.
‘One thing we must remember is that the interim government does not have the authority to decide on an issue like open-pit extraction,’ said Kazi Matin Uddin Ahmed, who teaches geology at Dhaka University and attended the meeting.
The interim government, which replaced the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina, is in power to help organise the national election and lacks any mandate to consider doing something regarding the management of natural resources, energy experts observe.’