Five prominent organisations yesterday demanded that the government scrap the proposed project of a coal-based thermal power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat as they said the plant, if built, would pose a threat to the Sundarbans. At a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club, speakers said the decision of setting up a power plant on the periphery of the Sundarbans, a wildlife sanctuary and the lone habitat of Bengal tigers, was "suicidal". Transparency International Bangladesh, Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (Bela), ActionAid, Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa) and Save the Sundarbans placed the demand. An agreement was signed on January 29 with India's state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for setting up a 1,300-megawatt plant at Rampal, 14 km from the world's largest mangrove forest. An environment impact assessment was done following the deal but the report did not identify the Sundarbans as a wildlife sanctuary, speakers said in the conference. Coal-fired plants emit huge carbon dioxide and produce ashes, which lead to environment pollution, experts say. The wastes from a coal-based plant also contaminate nearby water bodies, thus damaging the ecosystem. Because of saline water in the area, the per unit production cost at the thermal plant will be high, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the chief executive of Bela, said at the press conference. Despite this fact, the government is very keen on setting up the plant in Rampal, which raises questions, she added. The speakers also suggested that the deal signed with the NTPC should be made public and the government should ensure protection of valuable natural resources of the Sundarbans. TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman, Bapa representative Ashraf Mridha, Bela Chief Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, ActionAid representative Shomsher Ali and Save the Sundarbans key coordinator SK Faridul Islam were present at the press conference. A joint statement was read out, which was signed by Sultana Kamal, Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Rasheda K Chowdhury, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, MA Matin, Abu Naser, Sara Hossain, Khushi Kabir, Badiul Alam Majumder, Farah Kabir and Iftekharuzzaman. Earlier, on January 27, 12 renowned personalities of the country demanded immediate withdrawal of the government's decision to set up the power plant near the Sundarbans for the sake of protecting its environment and biodiversity. The Sundarbans covers 41 percent of the total protected forest area in Bangladesh and is home to 453 wildlife species. It has been declared a "Ramsar site", a world heritage site by Unesco. Besides, the government in February announced that some river areas of the Sundarbans are sanctuaries for globally endangered dolphins.