People on rampage in protest at power cuts

People demonstrate at Araihazar in Narayanganj Tuesday morning in protest at power outages. They also attacked a police outpost and two power offices.
— New Age photo

Thousands of people Tuesday morning rampaged through Araihazar in Narayanganj, blocking the roads and attacking a police camp and two power stations, in protest at severe power outages.
The people vandalised several vehicles and razed a temporary police camp and attacked two power offices. At least 30 were injured in the clashes with law enforcers.
Local residents said several hundred people, joined in by hundred more workers of the factories in the industrial belt, took to the streets in the morning demanding smooth power supply.
The people and the workers alleged power outages had taken place for at least four to five hours daily in the industrial belt over the past few days and the factory owners were forced to stop production because of such outages.
Amid the ongoing power crisis, power supply had been snapped for five hours since 11:00pm on Monday till 4:00am Tuesday and electricity went off again half an hour after.
Enraged at the situation, several hundred local people along with several hundred workers, equipped with bamboo sticks, iron rods and other weapons, took to the streets and blocked the Dhaka–Gopaldi and the Araihazar–Narsingdi Road with tree trunks.
They also started fire with tyres in several points on the road, suspending traffic for about six hours.
At the rumour of a police attack, the protestors immediately attacked a police outpost near by at Jalakandi and razed it to the ground.
They also vandalised several vehicles parked on the road. They also assaulted a schoolteacher and damaged his motorcycle.
The people then attacked the 10MW Sadardia power substation and damaged it by throwing stones.
In a few minutes, the workers stormed into the local Palli Biddut Samiti office and assaulted assistant engineer Alamgir Hossain and linesmen Sagar, Suman and Shahar Ali. Others in the office managed to get away.
The people then clashed with law enforcers when the lawmen went to the place to keep law and order.
The lawmen at one point charged at the people with truncheons to disperse them, but they countered the assault by pelting the law enforcers with stones. At least 30 people were injured in the clashes.
Awami League leaders Latif Molla, Salauddin Master and Juba League leaders Moazzem Haque, Jewel, Abdul Barek, Mala, Mintu, Mukul, Zilani, Tajul and Islam were among the injured. The injured were taken to hospital.
The people called off the blockade after high police officials, along with the people of the power authority, had assured them of a smooth power supply.
The Narayanganj police superintendent, Biswas Afzal Hossain, told New Age, ‘The situation is under control and law enforcers are patrolling the area to fend off further troubles.’