The government would negotiate with the affected villagers as well as the Chinese contractor of Barapukuria mine to resume coal production shortly, officials said Tuesday.
At a meeting Tuesday in the secretariat, the energy division has decided to resolve the emerging issues through discussions with the villagers and the Chinese contractor CMC, an energy division official told the FE.
A committee, headed by the joint secretary of energy division, is working to resolve the issues.
"We'll discuss with the local villagers so that they withdraw their barricade. We will also negotiate with the Chinese company about their demand for compensation," Petrobangla Chairman Jalal Ahmed told the FE.
The Chinese company --China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC)-has sought compensation from the government for disruption in coal extraction work due to blockade at Barapukuria.
The local residents have erected barricades last week stopping the Chinese company, appointed by the Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Ltd. (BCMCL), from coal production at face no. 1114 at the country's lone operative coalmine.
They erected the barricade when the authority of the BCMCL was sealing the borehole at the face no 1104 of the coalmine before starting production at the new face no. 1114.
Due to recent incidents of land subsidence at different villages in and around the coalmine, the villagers at Jhigagari have claimed compensation prior to the start of coal extraction at the new face. Jalal Ahmed said they wanted to resume production at the coalmine quickly as the coal was used for the 250-megawatt (mw) power plant at Barapukuria mine area.
"CMC has extended their deadline to March 8. Yet it will not be possible to start production by the deadline. We need to sit with the company to resolve the issues," a senior energy division official said.
By this time they would also discuss with the local villagers on their claim for compensation as the Prime Minister had already assured them of the same, he added.
"We are trying to workout ways to compensate the local affected villagers. We might follow the compensation method used during the construction of Jamuna Bridge," he said.
The official said: "The villagers must get the compensation. It will take some time to workout the plan. But in the meantime the people will be requested to withdraw their blockade."
If the coal extraction is not resumed, the coal-fired Barapukuria 250mw power plant would be inoperative within next 15 days, he added.
The Power Development Board (PDB) has set up the power plant at the Barapukuria mine area to run it from the coal produced from the mine.
"If coal production continues without major disruption, the state-owned BCMCL will be able to make operating profit by June this year," Petrobangla chairman Jalal Ahmed said.
Total coal reserve in Barapukuria coalmine is estimated at 390 million tonnes, of which only 64 million tonnes are recoverable. Some 1.13 million tonnes coal have so far been extracted from the mine.
