Protest Rally and March Towards Chattogram Port Despite Police Obstruction

A protest rally and march towards Chattogram Port were held despite tight police security and obstruction.

At the call of the Chattogram Port Protection Committee, a rally was held at Barik Building intersection near Chattogram Port on Monday (September 14) afternoon, followed by a protest march towards the port. The protesters opposed what they described as an attempt to hand over the profitable and major facilities of Chattogram Port, the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) to foreign company DP World under a long-term lease agreement.

A large number of leaders and activists from Chattogram Port workers and employees, political, social, student and professional organisations participated in the programme.

At the rally, the leaders said NCT and CCT are like “golden-egg-laying geese” for Chattogram Port every day. They alleged that a conspiratorial syndicate was trying to “strangle” these valuable assets for its own benefit. They said the people, together with workers and employees, would jointly resist such conspiracies and intensify the movement to protect the port and other public assets.

The Chattogram Port Protection Committee organised the rally and procession to protest the initiative to lease Chattogram Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT) to foreign company DP World.

Around noon, the protest march began from the Barik Building intersection in the city, adjacent to Chattogram Port, towards the port. Before the march, speakers at the rally at Barik Building intersection strongly demanded the cancellation of the decision to lease NCT and CCT.

The rally was chaired by Chattogram Port Protection Committee Convener Engineer Delwar Majumdar and moderated by its Member Secretary Fazlul Kabir Mintu.

Speakers included TUC Chattogram District Committee President Tapan Dutta; Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal Chattogram Divisional Committee President A M Nazim Uddin, General Secretary Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, Vice-President Shafiqul Islam, Senior Joint Secretary Abdul Baten, Joint Secretary Ibrahim Farazi and Organising Secretary Shafikur Rahman; Dock Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal President Md Harun and General Secretary Taslim Hossain Selim; TUC Chattogram District Committee Joint Secretary Iftekhar Kamal Khan; NAP leader Mitun Das; tea garden workers’ leader Pradip Das; Private Health Institution Employees Union President Abdur Rahim; Community Centre and Decoration Employees Union President Md Parvez; and Delwar Hossain, a leader of the Building Construction Workers Union Bangladesh (INSAAB), among others.

Speakers said Chattogram Port is one of the main pillars of the country’s economy and foreign trade. They said the decision to hand over important terminals of the port to a foreign company could in no way be in the national interest. Workers’ interests are also linked to the port’s capacity and operations. Therefore, before leasing NCT and CCT, the national interest, workers’ rights and national security must be taken into consideration.

They said the assets and infrastructure of Chattogram Port belong to the people. Workers and the public must build a united movement against any initiative to hand over these assets to foreign companies through long-term leases.

A M Nazim Uddin, president of the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal Chattogram Divisional Committee, said Chattogram Port is not merely a commercial institution; it is a key facility linked to the country’s economy, national interests and sovereignty. He warned that handing over long-term control of NCT and CCT to a foreign company in the name of operating the terminals could have negative consequences in the future.

He said transparency and accountability must be ensured in port operations to protect the country’s economic interests. No decision should be taken in the name of increasing the port’s revenue and capacity if it ultimately harms the people. He demanded that the government withdraw its decision to lease NCT and CCT.

Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, a labour leader and former CBA secretary of Chattogram Port, said there was no scope to implement any decision taken in the public interest during the “authoritarian Awami League government.”

He said Chattogram Port is the lifeline of the country’s economy and that the people would not accept the long-term leasing of the port’s important terminals, NCT and CCT, to any foreign company.

He said handing over important national infrastructure to foreign companies in the name of increasing capacity, modernising and ensuring efficient management of the port cannot be a solution. Rather, port operations can be made more efficient by increasing the port authority’s own capacity, introducing necessary technologies and recruiting skilled personnel.

NCT and CCT are making important contributions to the country’s economy, he said. Leasing the terminals could deprive the state of substantial revenue in the long term. At the same time, the employment, job security and rights of port workers and employees could face uncertainty.

Workers and members of the public participating in the rally and protest march chanted slogans including “Go Back DP World,” “We will give our lives, but not the port,” and “Beware, agents of DP World,” filling the areas surrounding the port and the streets with slogans.