Editorial:
Coal has now become a controversial issue in the country. Although the main considerations should have been economic and scientific aspects, the matter has emerged as an emotional debate. There must be politics in every national issue, but all should consider the economic benefits of the nation and accept the best scientific option. Germany is a good example for optimum utilization of coal resources through maintaining environmental balance, efficiently handling human displacements, agricultural land replacement and maintaining political soundness. Its vast "lignite" coal mines are mainly located in agricultural lands and villages near Cologne, but unlike Bangladesh and many other countries, mining in Germany is based on sensible politics and a vision to ensure benefit for its people. Resistance was also not uncommon in Germany, but relevant laws demand that individuals must give up their lands for the greater benefit of the nation. Germany set the example of how large-scale open-pit mining can be done by simultaneously protecting environmental balance and communities. As Bangladesh is now preparing for a Coal Policy, it can learn a lot from Germany.



Cover:
The previous government could not take any pragmatic decision on coal extraction although the energy-starved country needs alternatives to gas that will be exhausted in near future. As a national debate is going on whether Phulbari coalmine should be developed, the EP Editor Mollah Amzad Hossain visited the German open-pit coalmines to see practically how they managed everything. He shares his experiences with the EP readers.

Column:
Journalist Farid Hossain, a regular column writer for the EP joins the current debate on coal and said: Whether open-pit coalmine is good or bad for the country is a matter of debate. What is, however, clear is that the activists are a wrong signal… Bangladesh is not friendly to foreign investors.

Interview:
Prof. SM Mahfuzur Rahman, a former Chairman of Department of Finance at the University of Dhaka, talked to the EP on proposed coal policy, coal mining and other related energy issues.

Article:
The draft coal policy in its present shape may need the ironing in areas identified to make it acceptable for work, writes renowned energy expert Khondkar Abdus Saleque.