Roadblocks, rallies demanding smooth supply of power
Fishermen form a human chain at Mohipur in Patuakhali district yesterday demanding smooth electricity supply in Alipur and Mohipur fish landing stations during the ongoing peak season of hilsa catching.Photo: STAR
Local people blocked roads, held rallies and formed human chains in Tangail, Patuakhali, kishoreganj and Noakhali districts yesterday demanding smooth electricity supply in their areas. In Tangail, about 500 people of Mirzapur upazila blocked Dhaka-Tangail highway at Kurni for an hour from 12:00 noon, leaving hundreds of vehicles, including passenger buses and goods-laden trucks stranded on both sides of the highway, according to our correspondent. The agitating people put up barricades on the highway by felling trees and setting fire to tyres. They also held a rally there demanding uninterrupted power supply in the upazila. The power-hungry people lifted the road blockade at the request of a police team that reached the spot at around 12:30pm. Habibullah Sarkar, officer-in-charge of Mirzapur Police Station, said people of this upazila have become agitated as frequent load-shedding has made their life miserable. Our Patuakhali correspondent reported that fishermen, hilsa fish traders and ice factory owners yesterday formed a human chain on Patuakhali-Kuakata road in Mohipur area for half an hour from 11:30am demanding supply of electricity in Mohipur area. Jalil Howlader, a fish trader in Mohipur, said, " We cannot keep hilsa fresh for want of ice as production in the ice factories here remains stopped for 18 to 20 hours a day due to power outage." Fazlu Gazi, president of Fish Traders Association said, "We demand uninterrupted electricity supply here during hilsa season, especially from July to October. An official of Patuakhali Rural Electrification Board said they have sent a letter to the higher authorities demanding 6 MW more electricity for Mohipur area. "We get only 1.5 to 2 MW daily for the area against the demand for 8 MW," he said. A correspondent from Kishoreganj reports: Traders besieged the office of Pakundia upazila Nirbahi offier (UNO) in Kishoreganj in the morning demanding uninterrupted power supply. The traders under the banner of 'Nagorik Odhikar Committee' led by its President Aminul Haque Dulal, surrounded the office at around 11:00am and withdrew the programme after an hour as UNO Lutfunnahar assured them of taking necessary steps to meet their demand. The agitated traders also observed a one-hour strike, formed human chain and brought out a procession at the upazila headquarters to press home their demand. All the shops at the upazila market remained for an hour. In Noakhali, locals barricaded Choumohoni-Laxmipur highway in Banglabazar and Kendurbagh areas demanding uninterrupted power supply, says a correspondent. They also damaged a bus, a truck and five CNG run auto-rickshaws. Around 200 vehicles got stuck on both sides of road for three hours from 9:00am. On information, Begumganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nur-e-Khwaja Al Amin along with a police team rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Locals alleged that they got agitated for frequent loads shedding and took to the street.
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