Workers and labour leaders of Chattogram Port started a hunger strike on Monday, demanding cancellation of the agreement to hand over the port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to Dubai-based DP World.
The programme began around 11am opposite the Customs House in the city and will continue until 4pm. Leaders and activists of Bandar Rokkha Sangram Parishad and Jatiotabadi Sramik Dal jointly organised the protest.
Leaders of Bandar Rokkha Committee, labour representatives and port employees joined the programme, chanting slogans including “My port is my mother; I will not hand it over to foreigners” and “Go back, DP World.”
Md Humayun Kabir, coordinator of Bandar Rokkha Sangram Parishad, said the protesters had given the government a two-day deadline to initiate discussions during a procession on 8 October, the day the agreement was signed.
However, no initiative had been taken to hold talks, prompting them to proceed with the previously announced hunger strike.
Addressing the gathering, labour leaders said that handing over the country’s principal maritime trade gateway to a foreign company would pose risks to the national economy, geographical security and sovereignty.
They questioned the government’s justification for the agreement, arguing that although it had cited port modernisation and the elimination of corruption as key objectives, the move could primarily serve the interests of a foreign operator.
The leaders warned that they would launch tougher protests if the agreement with DP World was not cancelled immediately.
