POLICE firing on the protesters in Banshkhali Upazila of Chittagong on Monday as they were protesting against the construction of a coal-fired power plant left at least five people dead and the triangular clashes among police, pro and anti groups of the construction project injured around 100 people, including some policemen. As per media outlets, locals alleged that police opened fire while around 3000 villagers gathered at Gandamara meeting place to denounce the construction defying previously imposed Section 144 as local ruling party men in support of the construction called another meeting at the same place. Excessive use of power by police and abuse of magistracy by the local administration are the prime cause of the deadly bloodshed. It is thought that infrastructure increases the living standards of local people, but why would the people protest the setting up of the coal-fired power plant and why the local AL men are eager for the construction to start are big questions.The UNO said locals equipped with lethal arms swooped on police and hurled brick chips which provoked police to retaliate to save life and property but careful screening of news showed that villagers were not equipped with lethal arms, proving that those who died were essentially killed by the state for no reason. The people of the village are struggling to protect their rights to live in their inherited lands where they have lived for years, and it is natural they may have worries about the coal-fired power plant being setup there. The people are in fear of losing their sources of livelihood — fishing, farming, and trade of dry-fish due to pollution spewed forth by the factory. S Alam Group and SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation of China inked an agreement recently to set up the 1,320 megawatt coal-fired power plant at the Upazila.After killing five and injuring around 100 villagers, the police again filed three cases accusing 57 named and 3000 unnamed villagers. Intimidating people by listing them with cases could free the field for the government to establish the power plant but the way which the state has chosen to govern is coercive and thus dangerous for the government. The government has formed a probe committee to investigate the incident and asked to submit its report within seven days. We hope the government will be tough on the magistrates and police for killing innocent villagers. While environmentalists are aggressively opposing coal-fired power plants fearing its negative effects on the environment, the government’s love for setting up coal-fired power plant is in sharp contradiction to its Vision-2021 and the broader goal of SDGs. And people have all rights to determine their livelihood and protect their homestead from the state aggression in the name of development. If the government continuously failed to perceive people’s pulse, ruling the country would be hard. The state should act in a humane manner towards all, and for that, the killing must be investigated immediately.
