Five people have been killed in a clash between police and workers at an under-construction power plant in Chittagong District in Bangladesh. At least 25 people were injured. Four policemen have been seriously injured. Angry workers set fire to the power plant.
The eyewitnesses said that a Chinese supervisor even kicked the workers who were offering Namaz the previous day.
The workers attacked the power plant when a meeting between their leaders and the management failed to resolve the crisis. According to the eyewitnesses, the workers set a fire inside the power plant.
Chittagong Range Deputy Inspector General Anwar Hossain said that police were attacked when they tried to intervene, compelling them to open fire on the workers.
Workers protest:
The power plant is located in Banshkhali Upazila of Chittagong district. The incident took place on Saturday morning when workers initiated a protest for their demands of salary and allowances ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, police said.
DIG Hossain said, the angry workers, who resented the non-payment of dues attacked the power plant after a meeting between the management and their leaders failed to resolve the crisis.
He claimed, “When police intervened, they were attacked. Policemen were compelled to open fire after three of them were seriously injured,” DIG Hossain said. He said fifty policemen were deployed at the power plant after the demonstrations started on Friday.
Fourteen injured workers were taken to Chittagong Medical College and Hospital (CMCH).
Banshkhali Police Station OC (investigation) Azizul Islam confirmed that five people died in the clash, adding that six police personnel were also injured. While four people died on the spot, one succumbed to injuries after he was admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
Power Plant:
Rights activists say the SS Power One plant, 70 percent owned by the S. Alam Group, does not meet environmental impact standards and was built without public consultation.
It is one of the biggest investments made by Chinese companies in Bangladesh. The deal was one of many announced when President Xi Jinping visited in 2016.
S Alam executive director Subrata Kumar Bhowmick said the plant was 40 percent finished and about 3,000 construction workers were employed there.
