Staff Reporter :
Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) on Saturday demanded that the government reduces the prices of electricity by scrapping its current move to hike the rates.
“If the power tariff goes up, it will have multiple effects as prices of all essential commodities will increase”, said CPB leader Ruhin Hossain Prince while addressing a rally in front of National Press Club.
The rally, organised by Segunbagicha unit of CPB with Pushpen Ray presiding, was also addressed, among others by Sekandar
Hayet, Murshikul Islam and Mahbubul Alam.
The leftist leaders said the rise in power tariff will resulted in increasing the house rent as well.
Demanding the cancellation of the existing “minimum billing system”, the leaders said any tariff hike will hit hard the poor. Criticising the Power Ministry’s role they said the move of raising power price has proved that the government is trying to protect the interest of the rich.
They said the rural consumers are now paying the highest rate of electricity.
Some 9 lakh rural people consume electricity worth of Tk 55 crore, but they pay only Tk 98 crore. “This is a great mockery. The government must decrease the power price for the rural people instead of raising it, the meeting was told.
The leaders severely criticised the government’s purchase of power from rental power plants saying that the rental power serves only the interests of the vested quarters.
Power price hike to hit poor hard: CPB
