Dhaka: National Committee to Protect Oil-Gas-Natural Resources and Power-Port on Saturday announced fresh action programmes, including demonstration towards Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on 28 July, in protest against the signing of a contract for implementing the Rampal Power Plant project near the Sundarbans.

A protest procession will be brought out on the day from the Jatiya Press Club at about 11:00am towards the PMO.

Leaders of the National Committee announced the programme at a press conference at Mukti Bhaban in Dhaka, reports UNB.

The other programmes included countrywide demonstrations on 18 July and a rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club at 4:00pm, road march in Dhaka and in the districts around Rampal project on 19-25 July.

Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd (BIFPCL), a joint venture company formed by Dhaka and New Delhi, signed a contract on 12 July with Indian contractor BHEL to install the plant.

Addressing the press conference, the National Committee member secretary Anu Mohammad said India wants to implement the Rampal project as part of their `strategic interest`.

‘The circumstantial evidence suggests India is so much aggressive to implement the Rampal project to make their presence in the Bay of Bengal,’ he told reporters.

He said Bangladesh’s strategy should be getting out of Rampal project as soon as possible as this project will be harmful for bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh.

Other leaders of the committee Haider Akbar Khan Rono, Saiful Haque, Bazlur Rashid Feroz, advocate Abdus Salam, and prof Moshahida Sultana were present also on the occasion.

Committee member engineer Kallol Mostafa made a presentation on the Rampal power plant’s negative impact on the Sundarbans.