Road block at Mohakhali
In Barisal, Power hungry demonstrators ransacked Palli Bidyut Samity office, assaulted UNO and power engineer in Wazirpur upazila town yesterday.
The demonstrators took position on the road with pitchers and buckets at around 10:30am, said Md Nurul Alam, Assistant Commissioner (Gulshan zone) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
They lifted their blockade an hour later as the representatives of the demonstrators went to the WASA office to hold talks with the water supply authorities, Alam said.
The protesting locals blocked the same road last week to press the same demand and withdrew their protest after they were assured of a quick solution to the water crisis. But the water problem has not been solved yet, the residents said.
The protesters said they were not getting water from March 18 that forced them to stage the protest, The blockade was lifted after police stepped in and talked to the protesters.Residents in other parts of the city, including nearby Badda, have also launched protests in recent weeks.
In Barisal, Power hungry demonstrators ransacked Palli Bidyut Samity office, assaulted UNO and power engineer in Wazirpur upazila town yester and police picked four of them from the spot. Priya Sidhu Talukdar, UNO, said the demonstrators submitted a memorandum demanding power supply at 10:30 am. They were angered to see resident engineer of Palli Bidyut Samity Lutfar Rahman in his office. They assaulted him and also four staff of UNO office who tried to protect him.
After preliminary treatment, injured Lutfar Rahman was sent to Barisal under police escort.Residents said normal life and activities have been paralyzed by unprecedented load sheddintg - 13 to17 hours every day.
They accused Palli Bidyut Engineer Lutfar Rahman of corruption. "He has ensured power supply to saw mills, workshops and others in exchange of bribe," said Abdul Majid, a demonstrator.Later the mob carrying lethal weapons attacked the Palli Bidyut office at B N Khan College Road in the town, ransacked and assaulted officials.
Perturbed by the situation, the administration held a meeting with elite of the town at UNO office. Officials urged the residence for patience and help maintain peace.M A Aziz, officer in charge of Wazirpur thana, claimed situation is now under control. Four demonstrators - Chandu Molla, Matiur Rahman, Jalal Shikdar and Kharu Noman - were picked up from the scene and detained.
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/04/12/news0527.htm
__._,_.___