CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday claimed to have launched

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal presents Anil Aggarwal, chairman, Vedanta Group, with a memento after laying the foundation stone of the 1980-MW thermal power plant at Banwala village in Mansa district

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal presents Anil Aggarwal, chairman, Vedanta Group, with a memento after laying the foundation stone of the 1980-MW thermal power plant at Banwala village in Mansa district on Tuesday.

Energy experts said yesterday the government should immediately establish coal-fired power plants, even if it means that coal has to be imported, as it would take some time to extract local coal reserves to solve the power crisis in Dhaka.

The experts spoke at a roundtable, organised by the Buet Alumni Association (BUETAA) and the daily Prothom Alo. They also suggested an increase in energy generation from different sources, such as renewable, biomass, hydro and installing nuclear power plants to solve the crisis.

Haripur power plant of Power Development Board, which was renovated last year at a cost of Tk 112 crore, has been put on the list of

Ranchi: Three successive bandhs in the last seven days have pushed Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Ltd (TVNL), the major thermal power generating unit of the state, on the brink of a disaster.

The BJP-sponsored two- hour Bharat bandh on August 13, CPI(Maoists) sponsored Jharkhand bandh on August 19 and the bandh call of the Left parties today have adversely affected the coal supply to the company.

Hyderabad, Aug. 20: Coal India's decision to allot 10 per cent of its production for e-auction has hit the availability of coal for the thermal stations. Almost all thermal stations in the state are passing through severe shortage and some of them even closed down for few days as there was no coal to operate.

While the Mahanadi Coal Fields (MCF) has diverted nearly 30 million tonnes of coal towards e-auction, state-owned Singereni Collieries has been selling around three lakh tonnes of coal in e-auction, depriving both Rayalaseema and Kothagudem thermal stations.

Nalas (Rajpura): Following agitation by villagers in Nabha, now residents of over seven villages near Rajpura are up in arms against the government's plan to procure around 1,000 acres of fertile land for the 1,320 MV Rajpura Thermal Power Project (RTPP) near Nalas.

The villagers demand is to be paid at par with the Jheurheri villagers, who received compensation after their land was acquired for an international airport near Mohali.

Dumka: Hundreds of people took to the streets today under the banner of Jharkhand Ulgulan Manch in protest against the arrest of a person spearheading a movement opposing the proposed power plant in the area.

The arrest of Hopna Baski, the village head of Amgachhi, agitated residents to such an extent that they squatted on a daylong dharna in the court compound today demanding Baski's immediate release. The members of Jharkhand Ulgulan Manch handed a memorandum to the officials.