Agitating tea workers desire to meet PM
Tea workers of Chandpur Tea Estate have expressed desire to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her Sylhet visit on January 21 to place their demand for cancellation of the government's plan to set up a special economic zone (SEZ) in tea garden areas under the district.
They have already submitted memorandum to the prime minister through Habiganj deputy commissioner and Chunarughat upazila nirbahi officer, as the proposed economic zone would threaten the livelihood of thousands of tea workers there, said Sadhan Santal, president of Chandpur tea garden unit of Bangladesh Tea Labour Union.
Most of the tea workers are very poor, earning as low a daily wage as Tk 69, and so, they cultivate food grains on the empty lands but those have been allotted to the SEZ authorities, said several workers.
The tea workers continued two-hour work abstention from 9:00am to 11:00am daily in the 23 tea estates of Habiganj district since last month.
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