Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The parliamentary standing committee on the power, energy and mineral resources ministry on Monday placed a report on the open-pit mining system, saying that it should be used in Baropukuria, Phulbari and other coalmines, but after fulfilling the necessary preconditions.
A delegation of the committee members, after a recent visit to some coalmines in Germany, submitted its report to the committee at a meeting where it claimed that open-pit mining is possible if successful water management, proper rehabilitation of the displaced, recovery of land and minimum adverse environmental impact could be ensured, said meeting sources.
“Open-pit mining is possible if the preconditions are fulfilled properly,” the committee’s chairman, Subid Ali Bhuiyan, was quoted by New Age after the meeting as saying.
He, however, admitted that although open-pit mining was profitable compare to ground-pit mining, it should never be utilized before fulfilling the necessary preconditions.
The committee in its report said that after visiting the Renis-Lignite area at Hamburg in Germany, it saw that open-pit mining was effective there and could also be possible in Bangladesh.
The report also recommended that public opinion should be created in favour of open-pit mining before implementation of the project as there was still controversy over the issue.
The meeting decided that the committee members would visit the Baropukuria coalmine in Dinajpur,the newspaper reported.
BBN/SI/AD-30Nov10-3:32 am (BST)
