'Stop transfer of magistrate, scrap deal on container terminal'

At a press conference here on Sunday, they demanded his reinstatement as port magistrate "in the interest of the port".

They said Munir Chowdhury helped the CPA recover about 50 acres of its land worth around Tk 300 crore from encroachers, bring back discipline in the jetty and contributed a lot to check environmental pollution and illegal dredging in river Karnaphuli.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

He might have been transferred at the behest of some corrupt people who had been facing challenges in their wrongdoing, they alleged.

The committee leaders also urged the government to rescind the agreement with a 'controversial' consulting firm, appointed by CPA for implementation of the proposed Newmooring Container Terminal (NCT). They demanded quick implementation of the project by forming an expert team comprising engineers from CPA and BUET.

The report submitted by the firm will not benefit Chittagong port, they claimed.

The leaders also protested the recent reduction of tariff by CPA on different items and demanded withdrawal of the decision.

Secretary general of the committee and president of Bandar Jatiyo Sramik League Mahfuzur Rahman Khan read out the written statement at the press conference, held at Chittagong Press Club. Committee convener and president of Dock Bandar Sramik Karmachari Federation Sirajul Islam, joint conveners of the committee Md. Yakub Ali, Air Ahmad and Abu Jafar Azad also attended.