BNP held countrywide demonstrations on Saturday amid ‘police obstructions’ to protest against load shedding and the government decision to increase power tariff ‘abnormally’
The main opposition party, however, kept the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong out of the purview of the demonstrations to facilitate undisturbed Cricket World Cup matches.
The district and thana units of BNP held rallies and took out processions demanding immediate reduction of power tariff.
The police, without any provocation, charged batons to foil the demonstrations at several districts, BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed told reporters at a news briefing at the party’s central office at Naya Paltan Saturday evening.
Rizvi said that at least 50 BNP leaders and activists were injured in police attacks.
He announced that BNP would hold countrywide demonstrations on February 28 to press the demand for the release of party leaders as well as to protest against Saturday’s police attacks on the opposition’s demonstrations.
On Feb 8, the authorities raised power tariffs.
Enhanced in two phases — power tariff in bulk went up on Feb 1 and the second raise would be effective from Aug 1.
The New Age correspondent in Sylhet reports: The district chapter of BNP held demonstrations to protest against increased power tariff.
Later it held a rally at Court Point in the city chaired by organising secretary M Ilias Ali. The rally was also addressed, among others, by BNP district chapter general secretary Abdul Gaffar, city unit general secretary Abdul Kaiyum Jalali Panki and former lawmaker Dildar Hossain Selim.
New Age’s Khulna correspondent reports: The Khulna unit of BNP held a rally and brought out a procession in the city under the nationwide demonstrations.
The rally in front of Khulna BNP KD Ghosh Road office in the city, chaired by city BNP president Nazrul Islam Monju MP, was addressed by former lawmakers - M Nurul Islam and Sekendar Ali Dalim, city general secretary Moniruzzaman Moni and district general secretary Shafiqul Alam Mona.
They leaders said that the country’s economic independence had been endangered by the Awami League-Jatiya Party led alliance government by handing over electricity, port and telecommunication sectors over to Indian companies.
New Age correspondent in Barisal reported that the district chapter BNP held demonstration on the streets of the divisional city in protest against increasing the power tariff.
BNP Barisal city, south and north district units held demonstrations in the morning and afternoon led by lawmaker Mezbahuddin Farhad, former public prosecutor Advocate Kamrul Ahsan Shahin.
Speakers told gatherings of protesters that the increased retail and bulk power tariffs would adversely affect the economy and the common people, already hit hard by all time high essential prices.
They demanded a reversal of the decision to raise power tariffs.
Read the original story on the New Age
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