Officials behind coal disappearance to face music: Secy

Energy and mineral resources secretary Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem on Friday said those responsible for the disappearance of 144,000 tonnes of coal from Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL) will be brought to justice, reports UNB.

"The responsibility for the shortage of coal lies on the officials. Their claim of system loss is not believable. The officials will be brought to justice following further probe," he said while talking to reporters at Barapukuria Coal-fired Thermal Power Plant in Dinajpur.

Abu Hena, Power Division secretary Ahmad Kaikaus, Petrobangla chairman Abul Mansur Md Faizullah and Power Development Board (PDB) chairman Khaled Mahmud visited the BCMCL and closed Barapukuria Coal-fired Thermal Power Plant following the disappearance of coal.

They also held a meeting at the power plant office.

The Petrobangla chairman said appropriate action will be taken against those responsible for the 'disappearance of coal' from the mine.

He said the extraction of coal from the mine will begin in early September.

The Power Division secretary said though there is a problem in load balance of power following the shutdown of the Barapukuria power plant, there is no electricity crisis.

He said load-shedding is being tackled through increasing gas supply to the Sirajganj power plant.

Mentioning that the Barapukuria power plant can be reopened with an alternative arrangement, Kaikaus urged the plant officials not to enjoy the holidays during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.

The disappearance of coal came to light a few days back when a team from Power Development Board visited the coal mine and found that there was no adequate reserve of coal in the yard of the mine.

As per the official investigation, the stock was found to have a shortage of 148,000 tonnes of coal.

The third and last unit of Barapukuria Coal-fired Thermal Power Plant went out of operation on 22 July due to the shortage of coal.