Thousands of workers and employees took to the streets in Chattogram on Sunday, September 14, protesting the government’s reported plan to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Laldiar Char to foreign companies.
The protest, organized by the Chattogram Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), began with a march from the Barik Building intersection and concluded at the main gate of the Chattogram Port Authority headquarters, where a rally was held.
Speakers at the rally condemned the reported plan to lease NCT to Dubai-based DP World and Laldiar Char to Danish shipping giant Maersk. They called it a “domestic-foreign conspiracy” against the country’s national interests. The protesters warned that transferring these state-owned port facilities to foreign control would threaten thousands of jobs and undermine the country’s port-based economy.
The rally was presided over by A M Nazim Uddin, Chattogram Divisional President of the Nationalist Sromik Dal and Joint Convener of SKOP. The proceedings were conducted by Rizwanur Rahman Khan, Joint Convener of SKOP.
Speakers included Tapan Dutta, President of TUC Chattogram District and member of the Labor Reform Commission, Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, Divisional General Secretary of the Nationalist Labor Party, Ibrahim Khokon, Md Saiful Islam Selim, and Md Harun.
Leaders from various workers’ groups also addressed the rally, including Khorshedul Alam, President of the Trade Union Sangha, Nurul Absar Bhuiyan, Divisional General Secretary of BLF Chattogram, and Zahid Uddin Shahin, General Secretary of the Bangladesh National Workers Federation, Chattogram District.
The leaders demanded the immediate cancellation of the lease process. They cautioned that if the government proceeds with the plan, a nationwide movement will be launched to protect national assets and workers’ rights.
