Tea garden workers will go on indefinite strike across the country from January 21 protesting the government’s decision to set up an economic zone in Habiganj’s Chunarghat.
Chief Adviser to Bangladesh Tea Workers Union’s central committee Kanchan Patra said while addressing a protest in Habiganj’s Lashkarpur valley yesterday.
“No tea worker will work after January 21 to comply with the indefinite strike. Also, workers will blockade the highways and none can stop them,” he said.
Workers of 23 tea gardens in Lashkarpur valley continued protests against the plan as they went on a two-hour general strike yesterday. The strike was part of the continued demonstrations that had earlier involved protest rallies.
Nipel Paul, member secretary of the local land protection committee, said thousands of tea workers would take to the streets to blockade the highways in Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Sylhet if the plan to set up the economic zone was not cancelled by January 25.
“We will never allow any economic zone to be set up in arable lands,” he said.
Kanchan said he was hopeful that the government would back off from the decision to set up the economic zone by January 25.
The government decided to set up the economic zone on 25 acres of land at Chanpur and Begumganj in Chunarughat upazila.
The decision triggered strong protests among tea workers in the district.
