Both the government and the coal miner Asia Energy Thursday refused to comment on the fate of the open-pit mining in northern Phulbari.(The Financial Express)

An agreement was reached Wednesday between Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu and leaders of anti-mining protesters. That led to ending of the agitation following an assurance about cancellation of open-pit mining deal with the company.

There was a declaration on Wednesday that Asia Energy would wrap up its Bangladesh operations and that no open cast mining would be allowed.

Energy adviser and executive chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) Mahmudur Rahman, when asked, told journalists, "Don't ask me anything, I can't tell you."

Asia Energy sources, when contacted Thursday, said that the company had been directed by the government high-ups to say nothing to the media.

BDNWS adds: The Asia Energy has also failed to understand what is actually going on in the upper levels of the government, sources said adding that the Phulbari declaration of the Mayor is still not clear to them.

While asked about its next programme if the declaration is confirmed officially, the company also refused to answer.

A couple of days ago, Mahmudur Rahman told journalists that the government could not scrap the deal with the Asia Energy if the company itself did not agree to do so.

Foreign news agencies add: Shares in British coal miner Asia Energy Plc were suspended on Thursday, having earlier slumped by 60 per cent after the Bangladesh government halted work at the company's key project following violent protests.

The protests over the Phulbari coal project, in which six people were killed and over 120 injured, ended after Bangladesh agreed to the halt.

In london shares in Asia Energy crashed by 60 per cent to 115 pence in early trading before they were suspended at the company's own request pending an announcement. The company was not immediately available for comment.

Asia Energy wants to develop an open-pit mine at Phulbari in the northwest of the country but local residents, rights groups and opposition political parties objected, saying the project would displace hundreds of families and damage the environment.

The protests escalated after six people were killed when police opened fire during a demonstration and opposition parties called for a nationwide strike.

The protesters withdrew their agitational programme after talks with government officials on Wednesday during which authorities agreed to compensate the families of the dead, an official in northern Dinajpur district said.

Another report adds: The country's apex trade body urged the government Thursday to be on guard so that the flow of foreign direct investment to the country is not affected anyway following the crisis that resulted from the Phulbari tragedy.

'Foreign direct investment (FDI) is very essential for the country's development and Bangladesh also needs it very badly,' Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Mir Nasir Hossain said Thursday.

It would not be proper to cancel a bad deal at the cost of FDI, he observed.

'I said Tuesday that the government should renegotiate the present contract and sign a fresh deal in the interest of Bangladesh,' Nasir Hossain added.

The government agreed Wednesday to cancel the contract with the British firm Asia Energy Plc for developing the Phulbari coalmine in the wake of widespread protests against the deal.