Non-governmental organisations of several countries have condemned Unesco’s decision to withdraw its objection to the construction of the proposed 1320-megawatt super thermal power plant, which is just 65km away from the world heritage site. The WHC and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in October 2016 urged Bangladesh to relocate the power plant site, saying that it was posing a serious threat to the Sundarbans. Also Read- Govt: Unesco backtracks from Rampal stanceBut the government on July 6 announced that the committee withdrew its objection to the construction of Rampal power plant near the Sundarbans. Despite this step back, the Word Heritage Committee (WHC) gave a number of conditions to Bangladesh, setting an 18-month deadline to fulfil those, before it can initiate the construction. Hence, if the conditions given to help protect the Sundarbans remain unfulfilled or Bangladesh fails to submit the report within the deadline, the WHC will enlist the mangrove forest as a World Heritage Site in danger.

Source: Dhaka Tribune July 13, 2017 08:37 UTC