PROTESTING POWER PRICE HIKE Nov 30 hartal to protect people’s interests: left parties

Left political leaders on Saturday came down heavily on prime minister’s energy adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury for his remarks that the latest increase in power price was marginal and would hardly have any effect on daily life. 
On Friday, Tawfiq also lambasted the left parties that announced a half-day hartal for November 30 in protest at the power price hike and said that there was no ground for raging a movement over such a ‘trivial’ matter. 
Addressing a news conference at Maitree Auditorium at Purana Paltan in Dhaka, leaders of Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh and Democratic Left Alliance said that Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission had again ignored their anti-price hike arguments submitted before it in recent ‘public hearings’ and increased the power price as per the recommendations of the government. 
CPB president Mujahidul Islam Selim said that the rise in power price by Tk 0.35 per unit or kilowatt-hour might be a trivial matter for the ruling party loyalists who had been ‘looting public funds’, but it would definitely affect ordinary people who were suffering for spiralling commodity prices.
Revolutionary Workers Party general secretary Saiful Haque said that the November 30 hartal would serve only the interests of the people. 
SPB leader Bazlur Rashid Firoz, presenting the keynote paper, said that the government was patronising quick-rental power suppliers by purchasing costly electricity produced with government provided low-price gas while leaving public power units in gas shortage.
He said that ‘subsidising the power sector’ was a propaganda of the government as it had been collecting Tk 0.21 per unit as interests against loans given. 
He claimed that the consumers who had been paying Tk 0.26 per unit as contribution to the power sector development fund had not benefited from the fund. 
‘Independent energy experts, even the state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, said that the electricity price hike would not be needed if the fuel oil prices were adjusted in line with the international prices,’ Firoz said.
Corruption-free utilisation of the natural resources and public units would rather contribute significantly in reducing power prices, he said.
CPB general secretary Shah Alam, SPB (Marxist) convener Subhrangshu Chakrabartty, Ganatantrik Biplobi Party leader Mushrefa Mishu, United Communist League leader Abdus Sattar, Ganasanghati Andolan leader Firoz Ahmed, among others, were present.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net