| Daily Times - Site Edition | Wednesday, May 10, 2006 |
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Police clash with demonstrators
DHAKA: Riot police fired tear gas on Tuesday at thousands of opposition activists during a protest against power outages in the Bangladeshi capital, leaving several people injured, witnesses said.
Police swooped on more than 2,000 protesters after they started smashing passing vehicles during the downtown protest, according to a photographer at the scene. The protesters from Bangladesh Jubo League, the youth front of main opposition Awami League, were marching toward the headquarters of the state-owned power company when the violence erupted. Dozens of cars and buses stranded in a traffic snarl were smashed.
Bangladesh, a tropical delta nation of 140 million people, has been hit by power shortages affecting industries, business and agriculture. The impoverished South Asian nation produces about 3,000 MW of electricity against total demand of around 4500 MW, according to the government’s Power Development Board. AP