A 160-foot section of the boundary wall at Barapukuria Coal Mine in Dinajpur collapsed on Wednesday due to excessive coal pressure, not an earthquake, officials confirmed. The mine’s storage yard, designed to hold 220,000 tons, currently contains around 500,000 metric tons of coal—more than double its capacity. The surplus buildup occurred because the adjacent Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant, the mine’s sole coal buyer, has been shut down since October 27 after all three of its units went offline due to mechanical failures. The plant, with a total generation capacity of 525 megawatts, has faced recurring technical issues since its establishment in 2006. With coal extraction continuing at an average rate of 3,000 tons per day, storage limitations have intensified, leading to the wall collapse. Authorities now face challenges managing the growing coal stockpile and are concerned about safety and production continuity until the power plant resumes operations.