Address the concerns with urgency

WE share the concerns of the environmentalists regarding the danger faced by the Sunderbans. Our concerns stem from the two projects the government is planning to set up in the very close vicinity of the forest.
One need hardly emphasise the importance of the world’s largest mangrove forest to our ecology. It is the repository of a large variety of flora and fauna. It provides sanctuary to nearly 60 varieties of bird life. It is also a natural barrier to tidal surge. The Sunderbans has already come under threat due to unplanned tourism.
We strongly urge the government to go further into the profit-gain analysis before going ahead with the Rampal power plan. There is need to not only delve further in to the economics of the scheme, the deleterious impact on the environment of this coal-fired project should also be reevaluated. Admittedly, an environmental management plan has been worked out to address different areas of concern, but both the efficacy of the plan and the continued resource availability is not fully guaranteed.
To add to its woes, the projected ship-breaking yard in Barguna Upazilla happens to be only six kilometers from the Sunderbans. And the government has decided to build the yard on an area covering more than 52 acres of land even after the local forest department as well as the department of environment has advised against it. Given Sitakund experience we cannot but be alarmed at the idea of a ship breaking yard so close to the Sunderbans.