Power, Water Price Hike Parties demand withdrawal of decisions

Different left and progressive political parties on Sunday staged separate demonstrations in Dhaka demanding withdrawal of the recent government decisions to increase power and water price, terming the price hike as illogical and anti-people.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Nationalist Party in a press release on Sunday said that they had shifted their countrywide demonstration protesting against the utility price hike from Monday to Tuesday.

The government on Thursday increased the average retail price of electricity by 5.3 per cent that came into effect on March 1 and hiked the water price in Dhaka city on Friday by 24.98 per cent, effective from April 1.

Left Democratic Alliance, a combine of nine left leaning political parties, held a rally in front of the National Press Club in the capital protesting against hike of the utility prices and urged the government to withdraw the decisions immediately.

Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Mohammad Shah Alam, said that increase of power and water prices would increase the sufferings of the common people as their cost of living would go up due to the government decisions as their income was not increased.

He urged the government to stop corruption, looting and mismanagement instead of hiking power and water prices, if they wanted to earn more from the sectors.

He urged the people to take to the streets protesting against the unjustified decisions.

Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolan, said that the Awami League government had turned the service sector of the country into business sector.

The government could easily avoid the hike of power and water prices if they considered the interests of the common people, Saki said.

Chaired by Socialist Party of Bangladesh central leader Razequzzaman Ratan, central leader of United Communist League Abdus Satter, SPB (Marxist) Manas Nandi, convener of Samajtantrik Andolan Hamidul Haque, central leader of Democratic Revolutionary Party Shahidul Islam Sabuj and Revolutionary Workers Party central leader Akbar Khan spoke, among others, at the rally.

Besides, Dhaka city unit of Ganosamhati Andolan also held a separate rally at the same venue protesting against power and water price hike. 

CPB (Marxist) also held a rally at the same venue in the morning protesting against the government decisions.

Speakers at the rally said that both the PDB and Dhaka WASA were profitable service oriented organisations of the government and the government could lessen the prices.

Presided over by the party general secretary MA Samad, the rally was also addressed, among others, by Social Democratic Party of Bangladesh convener Abul Kalam Azad and conservative party chairman Anisur Rahman Desh.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net