The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has formed a committee to probe into the coal crisis, which caused the halt of production at the Barapukuria thermal power plant.
Late on Sunday, the state-owned coal-fired plant was shut as the Barapukuria coal mine failed to supply the fuel required for electricity generation.
“Deputy-director Shamsul Alam will lead the three-member panel with two other officials – Assistant Director ASM Sazzad Hossain and Deputy-assistant director SM Tajul Islam,” ACC spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told Bangla Tribune on Monday (Jul 23).
Bhattacharya, who is the ACC's deputy-director (public relations), said, “ACC Director Kazi Safiqul Islam has been tasked with consulting and monitoring the panel.”
Earlier on Monday, State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid had a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, after which he said that the crisis will be solved in a month.
Operations of the power plant in Dinajpur’s Parbatipur were suspended around 10:20pm on Sunday.
Two units of the plant, with the capacity of 125MW each, have already been turned off while the other more efficient unit, with a capacity of 275MW, was starving of fuel and was only producing 150MW.
The plant, which depends on coal supplies from Boropukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMCL), requires 3,300 tonnes of coal a day.