Exactly after 410 days, on August 26, the soil of Phulbari was stained with the blood of more than half a dozen of its sons who wanted to protect their ancestral lands, livelihood and ecology. Police, and para-military BDR, opened fire on a demonstration 1.5 km away from the Asia Energy office which was scheduled to be hemmed in by locals. The firing left a hundred others injured, and some were reported still missing.

But it was altogether a different scene on Wednesday August 30 -- Phulbari people celebrating victory of their agitation. The government ultimately accepted their demands including saying 'no' to Asia Energy and open-pit mining. The government also agree to provide compensation to the families of the victims and the government representative termed the August 26 incident as "very inhumane". And as per the agreement, from now on the government would decide the method of mining on the basis of public opinion.

They did everything but why after so much of bitter experience, why not after the first demonstration last year? The question remains.

Attack on innocent, and unarmed, protesters is not a new incident in our country. About a dozen people were killed in Kansat, Chapainawabganj, early this year in police firing while they were demonstrating against the harassment by the Palli Bidyut Samity officials, and demanding uninterrupted supply of electricity. It was observed that the law-enforcers were increasingly becoming intolerant, and not showing the minimum restraint while dealing with the masses. This is the outcome of widespread politicisation of a disciplined force, many believe.

The people of Phulbari have every right, and every reason, to lodge a protest against the open-pit coalmine project in their area, which they perceive as a threat to their very existence. Not only the locals, but the countrymen, also, have the responsibility to protect their resources from being plundered by foreigners. Allowing extraction of coal from the Phulbari mine by the open-pit system would be tantamount to committing murder, not only of the 6 lakh people of four upazilas of Dinajpur, but also of the two crore people of northern Bangladesh, some observed.

Gainers and losers
Who would be the beneficiaries of the project and who the losers? It was asked time and again and shown that the people of Phulbari would be the first victims losing their ancestral homes, farmlands, water bodies, hundreds of thousands of tress and so on. They would also lose their jobs, livelihood, culture and social setup. Apart from the direct losses, they would have to pay high compensation in the form of health hazards, pollution, waste management and living cost etc.

It was told that the next victims would be the people of the neighbouring districts of the project site. People of at least 12 districts of greater Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bogra, Pabna and Rajshahi would be seriously affected by the acid mine drainage (AMD), and ground level ozone contamination which are associated with open-pit mining. AMD is metal rich water formed by the chemical reaction between water and rocks containing sulphur-bearing minerals. The acid runoff dissolves heavy metals such as copper, lead, mercury in ground water and surface water. Environmental effects of AMD include contamination of drinking water, and disrupted growth and reproduction of aquatic plants and animals.

But the authorities did not pay any heed to this.

The subsequent losers would be the country, and its people. Known energy resources, especially fossil fuels, are dwindling fast across the globe. On the other hand the appetite for energy is continuously growing in the West where people are living more luxuriously. The multi-national companies (MNCs) of those countries launched a massive hunt for energy, firstly across Africa, and in recent years in Asia, for meeting the high energy demands of the developed nations, especially of America and Europe.

We know that Bangladesh has only about 3 TCF of known gas reserves, and some coal reserves in the northern districts of Dinajpur and Rangpur. In fact, these two fossil fuels are our only known natural resources. If we make a mistake in handling the exploration, and use, of these two resources the country will have to face dire consequences in future. But these two resources have already caught the eagle eyes of the MNCs. And unfortunately, knowingly or unknowingly, our politicians and technocrats/bureaucrats have already stepped onto the apparently wrong track in many instances, especially in gas exploration, and are now in coal extraction. However, the unequal contract signed with Asia Energy stands scrapped now apparently to the benefit of both the country and the people.

In an earlier article published on July 22, 2005 in The Daily Star, I had furnished a conservative calculation of how much the country will get, and how much the people will lose, after implementation of the project. As far as the existing royalty is concerned, Bangladesh was supposed to get 6 percent from the coal extraction. This means that the country would get 24 million tons of coal (out of 400 million tons), worth Tk 9,072 crore, at the current international market price of $ 60 per ton. But what price to give to the local people? The total loss would stand at Tk 25,000 crore in the next 50 years. If we include the cost of the environmental damage, and losses of the surrounding districts, the figure would certainly be bigger.

How much Asia Energy was supposed to get? The company would, reportedly, invest $ 1.5 billion for the next 30 years (Tk 9300 crore), and would get 376 million metric tons of coal worth $ 22.56 billion (Tk 142,100 crore).

Harbinger of development!
The Asia Energy Corporation (Bangladesh) Pvt Ltd, in their brochure and website, had been furnishing exaggerated figures on the beneficial effects of the project for the Bangladeshi people, along with mentioning how much labour and resources that would have to be deployed to benefit the people. They were also ensuring a bright future for the people through implementation of the coalmine. Going through their write-ups, it seemed that they had come here as if to offer missionary services to the people of Bangladesh with little intention to profit from the project!

Asia Energy claimed that the Phulbari coalmine had the potential to transform northwest Bangladesh into a mining and industrial region, and bring new wealth, employment and opportunity to a predominantly poor, subsistence level, agricultural economy. Directly it would create 2,100 jobs during the mine's construction, and provide a long-term average of 1100 jobs.

The MNCs always paint visions of prosperity with more industries coming to the area in due course to provide jobs. But there always remains a gulf of difference between the promises and reality.

But how the people of Phulbari were supposed to be benefited? According to the company, 50,000 people would be resettled (actually victims would not be less than 6 lakh) and the company would be able to provide 2100 jobs initially, and 1100 jobs subsequently. But who would get the highly skilled jobs, obviously not the people of the locality. Being displaced from the their homelands and farming professions, and devastated by toxic wastes and other environmental hazards, what benefit would the people of the four upazilas get?

Hanging carrot
The multinational companies hang carrots in front of people, but do not hand them over. People of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, DR Congo and some other African countries were surely shown a dream by the MNCs who were exploring their natural resources. But the fate of the general people of those countries did not change, except for a few individuals having access to the corridors of state power.

Asia Energy was assuring the people that they would be rehabilitated elsewhere. But would it be possible to provide the displaced people with same type of homesteads they would lose? Besides, villages are built over hundreds of years, and people live in their homes generation after generation. The memories of, and the love for, their own homestead can never be compensated.

Why foreign company for coal extraction?
Is it impossible to extract the coal ourselves? How much does it cost to extract the coal? Actually, coal extraction is not at all a very high-tech matter. The investment required for the Phulbari coalmine is not a big one either (only $ 1.5 billion). The government can, itself, extract the coal by forming a company, or our local investors can come forward, by forming a consortium. In that case our resources will remain in our country and we can endure the losses to be wrought by the mining process.

The bloodshed and the subsequent outrage deterred the government from finally offering the coalmine to a foreign company. History shows the blood of struggling people seldom goes in vain.

Nazrul Islam is a free-lance journalist and environmentalist.