Bangladesh witnesses riots over power shortage .:. NewKerala

Bangladesh witnesses riots over power shortage

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Posted on 10 Apr 2006 # ANI Post your comment

Bangladesh witnesses riots over power shortage

By Nazrul Islam, Dhaka: At least four persons have been killed and hundred others injured in series of riots over power shortage in Bangladesh’s northern Chapainawabganj district.

Indefinite strike, non-stop demonstration and road-blockade followed Thursday's violence during which activists of ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party reportedly hurled home-made bomb on farmers' demonstration, killing four in the remote village, Kansat of Sibganj upazial.

The area was fuming in anger as the authorities on Sunday imposed ban on all sorts of processions and rally in seven kilometre radius of the area and deployed 1, 000 additional riot forces to maintain order in the area, bordering with India.

On the other hand, farmers enraged by the latest spate of killings, took to the streets carrying sticks in their hands and vowed to continue demonstration until their demand for regular power supply to their irrigation pumps are met.

Thursday's attack, third of its kind in three months, killed four farmers, brought the others together to fight their causes under a platform styled Action Council for Rural Electrification in the remote village.

Political parties, peasant organisations and the members of the so-called civil society condemned the killings as they did in the two previous cases that had killed 10 more innocent people in January.

On the series of anti-government demonstration, not influenced by any political party, police firing on the agitations killed two on January 4 and eight others on January 23, and injured several hundred others in the remote village.

The farmers, most of whom depend on agriculture, had been agitating to get regular power supply at their pump stations to irrigate their farm lands.

Since the late January, the government has been assuring the farmers of regular power supply, but the government's efforts proved to be futile, resulting in repetition of bloodsheds.

In Bangladesh, more than 70 per cent of over 144 million people are yet to come under the electricity coverage. The authorities consider the existing 30 percent coverage to determine the country's demand, which remain unfulfilled for most of the times.

Currently, the country's power consumption demand stood at about 4800 megawatt, against which Bangladesh Power Development Board produces on an average 3300 megawatt of electricity.

According to newspaper reports, on an average every area in capital Dhaka experiences two hours of blackouts.

In the countryside, the situation is grave.

"We face load-shading twice a day –two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening," Siddiqur Rahman, a small businessman in southern Patahrghata locality told Asian News International.

Facing the power ordeal, most of the industrial units have alternative captive power plants as alternative arrangements. The industrialists say use of captive power units added extra money to their production cost.

During its current tenure, beginning in 2001, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance Government had taken a number of projects to add power to the national grid. But it could only harness with only 80 megawatt of electricity to the national grid.

The Minister in charge of the Chapainawabganj district, Mizanur Rahman Minu who is also the Mayor of Rajshahi city, blamed the agitated people for the latest crisis in the locality.

"It is a conspiracy against the popular government," Minu told a press conference, adding that the government would start legal procedure against the demonstrators.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Action Council for Rural Electrification, Golam Rabbani, urged the administration to ensure security for the people and to keep vigil so that no untoward incident takes place.

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