Protest against staggering of gas supply

Our Correspondent CHITTAGONG, Oct 30: In protest of the authority's holiday staggering of gas the aggrieved millers of Chittagong along with their employees and officials will now stage demonstrations through forming human chains in front of each re-rolling mill in Chittagong tomorrow. Decision of the unprecedented protest programme was taken at a meeting with the leaders of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) at its auditorium today. Presided over by Senior Vice President of the CCCI Mahbubul Alam the meeting was addressed by CCCI directors Mahfuzul Huq Shah and Mohammed Shahin Alam and president and secretary of the Re-rolling Mill Owners Association Jafar Alam and Md Jafrul Islam Chowdhury respectively. The meeting was also addressed by top executives from different re-rolling mills. They are Mirza Akbar, Tapan Sengupta, Almas Shimul and Anamul Huq Iqbal. The millers alleged that some 38 re-rolling mills were closed in Chittagong due to gas shortage over the last 10 years. They said the authority is showing excuse of gas shortage to the mills in Chittagong but the mills in Dhaka are being supplied with 20 times more gas, which can never be accepted. They suggested import of fertiliser instead of producing it because the government has to provide subsidy to the local fertiliser production. Cost of fertiliser import from abroad will be much less than production cost in local fertiliser factories, they argued. In the meeting Mahbubul Alam said the CCCI urged the government to ensure balanced supply of gas to the industries in Chittagong through a faxed message to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on October 25, Petrobangla director and MD of Karnafuli Gas Distribution Co (KGDC) Sanwar Hossain on October 20 and in an emergency meeting with Sanwar Hossain on October 26 the KGDC authority had withdrawn its previous letter about gas rationing in Chittagong. "The decision to snap gas supply to the re-rolling and steel mills and gas staggering in all industrial plants and factories excluding the readymade garment units and food sector is a discriminatory and step-motherly attitude towards Chittagong," Alam said today in the meeting with re-rolling mill owners. He said that all entrepreneurs and businesses should stand united against the authority's negligence towards Chittagong as well as the conspiracy to divert the tea auction activities to elsewhere from the port city. He further said he has informed the Secretary of power, energy and mineral resources, and DG of the Prime Minister's Office for Gas Nazmul Islam of the grievances of businesses over telephone and faxed urgent message to the Secretary and the Petrobangla chief. Jafar Alam expressed concern at diverting gas from Chittagong to feed the mills in Dhaka, Tangail and their adjoining areas by opening a new pipeline of gas. He said the gas staggering is like striking a dead horse as the Power Development Board (PDB) has already stopped supplying electricity to the Chittagong industries a day in a week, which means the local industries are devoid of power and gas four days a week. Ship-breaking, cement and infrastructure sectors besides re-rolling mills are the worst sufferers caused by the authority's move, he added