Left parties call shutdown for Nov 30 to protest electricity price hike

Left parties have called a half-day general strike for Nov 30 to protest the government’s decision to increase the price of electricity by 5.3 percent.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 Nov 2017, 12:46 PM
Updated : 23 Nov 2017, 12:46 PM

The Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh and the Ganatantrik Bam Morcha called the strike in a press conference following the regulator’s announcement on Thursday.

The left parties had threatened to call the strike at a rally on Wednesday if the government put forward plans to raise the price of electricity.

On Thursday, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission increased the price of electricity by Tk 0.35, or 5.3 percent, per unit. The hike is to go into effect from December.

This is the eighth time the Awami League has increased the price of electricity since coming to power in 2010.

Left parties held rallies at the district level to protest any rise in price following the BERC’s public hearing on the decision.

“A farce has been passed off as a public hearing,” CPB General Secretary Shah Alam had said. “If another price hike is announced we will take to the streets.”