Hundreds of workers have formed a human chain to protest the tax hiking on bidi from this fiscal year 2020-21 which already have affected the livelihood of several lakh ultra-poor workers, traders and cultivators.
They have placed five points demands, including withdrawal of recently hiked of tax Tk 4 per cent in each packet of bidi, removal of advanced income tax on bidi and ensuring six days working facilities in a week for the workers in the factories.
The demands were placed to the journalists from a human chain jointly organized by ‘Bangladesh Bidi Sramik Federation’ and ‘Greater Rangpur Bidi Sramik Union’ held at in front of the office Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Rangpur district on Monday morning.
They urged the authorities concerned to fix the price of each packet of low quality cigarette at Tk 100 while each packet of bidi Tk 10 only and taking initiative to ban of duplicate bidi in the markets across the country.
Citing that there was no tax on bidi during the regime of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman, and the Premiere’s previous instruction to reduce tax on bidi industry for fiscal year 2009-10 as the livelihood of workers, traders and cultivators run smoothly, but ignoring the order, a vested quarter have increased 4 percent tax in each packet of bidi from the beginning of the current fiscal year while they hiked only two percent tax in each packet of low and medium level cigarettes that clear the conspiracy against the bidi industry, speakers said.
Bangladesh Bidi Workers Federation’s Central President MK Rahman, its Executive President and HaragachBidiSramik Federation chief Amin Uddin BSs, General Secretary AbdurRahman, bidi leaders Amirul Islam, HerikHossain, AbulHasnatLavlu, Shamimul Islam, and Sirajul Islam,among others, were present, in the program.
