|
Bangladesh coal protest, 4 dead
26/08/2006 20:47 - (SA)
Dhaka - At least four people were killed and 100 injured when police opened fire on thousands of Bangladeshis as they tried to storm an office of British coal miner Asia Energy Plc <AEN.L> on Saturday.
The crowd was protesting against a planned open pit coal mine project at Phulbari in the northwest Dinajpur district.
Police fired hundreds of shots and 50 teargas shells to disperse the angry crowds, said witnesses.
"It was a hell of a scene with hundreds of gun-shooting police confronting nearly 20 000 protesters in the hours of battle," one witness told Reuters.
The protesters, backed by various rights groups, said the project would displace hundreds of families and cause serious damage to the environment.
They demanded the Asia Energy office at Phulbari be closed immediately.
Police called in paramilitary troops as reinforcements after they had failed to scare off the protesters, district officials told reporters.
'Mine is open and transparent'
The protesters came from Dinajpur and nearby districts, they said.
Asia Energy said it had submitted a scheme of development and a feasibility study for the Phulbari mine and was awaiting final government authorisation to start mining.
CEO of Asia Energy Corporation (Bangladesh) Pty Ltd, Gary Lye, denied that the Phulbari project would harm people or the environment.
"Asia Energy would like to reiterate that it has been operating lawfully in Phulbari for several years in accordance with a legally binding contract with the government of Bangladesh," he said.
"Our Phulbari coal project is an open and transparent business that will bring far-reaching benefits to both the local community and the people of Bangladesh."
Production at the Phulbari project will peak at 15 million tons per annum. Asia Energy will also double the capacity of a 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant.
- Reuters
|
News
