Banshkhali Power Plant Movement is a series of demonstrations in Banshkhali Upazila of Chittagong, Bangladesh against the unlawful acquisition of agricultural lands, graveyards and habitations of locals by a joint consortium of a Bangladeshi conglomerates and a Chinese company for a coal-based power plant. Clashes with police during the protests have claimed four lives according to policy, but protesters claim five people have been killed so far. Protesters also claim that another four people went missing during the interaction with police.
Contents
- Agreements
- Acquisition of lands
- Formation of protection committee
- Events
- Legal proceedings
- Criticism
- Environmental impact
- References
In February 2016 the state-owned energy body, the Power Development Board, and S. Alam Group of Industries signed an agreement to purchase electricity from the consortium beginning in November 2019, when the power plant would be operational. The protests began in March 2016, shortly after the agreement was signed.
On March 19, 2016 locals gathered and started protesting against the coal-based plant. The protests eventually turned violent as terrorist groups linked with the governing Awami League and the power plant authority became involved. Amid the protests, the power plant authority ignored demands by the local populace and started acquiring land by force, with the help of local Awami League leaders.
Since the beginning of the protests, protesters have frequently used the slogan: "Committee to protect habitation and graveyards". On April 2, 2016, when the owners and engineers of the coal-based power plant attempted to visit the construction site, some miscreants swooped on the motorcade of the officials. Police subsequently cracked down on the locals, arresting seven people. Furious at these arrests, locals called for a public gathering on April 4, 2016.
The Awami League leaders called a meeting at the place on the same day. Local police imposed section 144 that restricts any sort of public gathering in the area.
When the locals tried to defy the section 144 and gathered to protest the illegal measures, police opened fire on the protesters killing at least five on April 4, 2016.
The locals are still continuing the movement amid loss of lives, which is the largest overall loss of life in an anti-coal protest since the murder of six people in Jharkhand, India.
Agreements
S. Alam Group of Industries achieved the go ahead from the Awami League government to build two coal-fired power plants in Banshkhali Upazila of Chittagong on October 31, 2013, despite having no environmental impact assessment report till date.
S. Alam Group of Industries, one of the fastest growing conglomerates of Bangladesh signed an agreement with China-based energy giant Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III with a view to setting up coal-based power plant in December 2013.
On February 16 of 2016, the government signed an agreement to purchase power from the coal-run power plant to buy electricity at BDT 6.61 per kilowatt-hour from the two projects of it with power generation capacity of 1,224MW.
Acquisition of lands
Since 2013, the local shareholder of the power plant, S. Alam Group of Industries, started grabbing lands from the locals of the area with the help of ruling Awami League leaders. With Awami League leaders as the mediators, locals complained that they were neither paid proper compensation nor they were allowed to contact the high-ups of S. Alam Group of Industries.
Moreover, many agricultural lands, graveyards, mosques, temples and residential lands were also acquired through force and fraudulence for the power plant and the process of acquiring lands illegally was escalated after the government showed interest in buying electricity from the plant.
Once the papers were signed, S. Alam Group officials started visiting the spot frequently and fencing of the acquired land began.
Formation of protection committee
The "Committee to protect habitation and graveyards" was formed after the S. Alam Group claimed to have acquired some 600 acres of land in the area mostly owned by the salt-farmers who live hand to mouth.
Former union parishad chairman and local Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Liakat Ali was nominated as the convener of the committee. The committee vowed to protect the agricultural lands, residential lands, mosques, temples and graveyards from S. Alam Group those were grabbed unlawfully without paying proper compensation and having to public hearing of the demands.
Events
The frustration due to the deliberate overlooking of the demands and grabbing of lands from the locals without proper compensation came into existence on March 11 of 2016 when hundreds of local inhabitants were gathered to protest the unlawful acts of S. Alam Group of Industries and government under the banner of "Committee to protect habitation and graveyards".
On March 19 of the same year, when the locals were rallying around the project area, local goons of Awami League shot several rounds of bullets on the crowd. Indiscriminate firing by Awami League thugs dispersed the crowd and compelled them to resort violence. Angry protesters then went on rampage and set a pick-up van on fire and cordoned the home of an official of the project in retaliation.
Since then the local peasants and inhabitants were protesting against the power plant project frequently and the local Additional Superintendent of Police Habibur Rahman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shamsuzzaman, and officer-in-charge of local police station Swapan Majumder called a public hearing on March 23 which was attended by around three thousand people who demanded that the project should be shifted somewhere else otherwise the environment and livelihood of the locals would be affected. The crowd was given assurance that their demands would be considered.
Amid the public hearing, S. Alam Group of Industries officials continued their work and on April 2, 2016 several engineers came to visit the project area with one of the Directors of S. Alam Group of Industries. Protesters felt betrayed and attacked on the motorcade of the engineers and vandalized a CNG-run auto rickshaw. Cases were filed against the local inhabitants and seven were arrested by police within 24 hours.
To protest the unlawful arrest of villagers, a public gathering was called on April 4, 2016 by the "Committee to protect habitation and graveyards". To foil the public gathering called by protection committee, Awami League thugs who were serving as the mediators and used to terrorize the inhabitants to force them to sell their lands also called a meeting in the same place, on the same day. Local police imposed a section 144 that banned any kind of public gathering.
On April 4, 2016 around five hundred villagers gathered and defied the section 144 and started demonstrating against the illegal actions of the police and government. Police arrived at the spot surrounded with 30 motorcycles of Awami League cadres and ordered the protesters to leave the place. When the protesters denied complying police orders, both police and armed cadres started firing on the crowd.
Five were shot dead in the incident, four on the spot and two in medicals. Among the deaths, those who were identified are: Anwarul Islam, Mortuza Ali, Zaker Ahmed, Zahiruddin, Md Zaker and an unidentified woman.
Legal proceedings
A total of three cases have been filed so far on the death of six protesters, one on behalf of police and two from relatives of the victims.
Police sued 57 figures who are at the forefront of the movement including former union parishad chairman and local Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Liakat Ali, and over 3,000 anonymous.
Monowara Begum, wife of deceased Zaker sued 1,500 anonymous people in connection to the death of her husband. Bashir Ahmed, relative of another deceased Anwarul, filed a case against six named and 1,500 unidentified people over the incident.
Local administration formed a probe body, headed by additional district magistrate Mominur Rashid, to investigate the clash.
Criticism
On April 4, 2016, Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Begum Khaleda Zia lambasted the government for the killing of several people in a police attack in a statement. She also demanded that the government form a judicial probe body to identify the culprits and give them exemplary punishment.
Chhatra Oikkya Forum announced a general strike in Banshkhali in protest of the deaths as well as demanding to move the power plant project from the area.
Leaders of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports demanded in protest rallies in the capital and in the Chittagong city on April 5, 2016 immediate arrest of the killers and their exemplary punishments.
Ted Nace, the editor of CoalSwarm termed as the largest loss of life after the 2011 Jharkhand anti-coal protest in India.
Environmental impact
Experts have warned against the setting up of a coal-based power plant claiming it not an environmentally-friendly option.