Upazila chairmen threaten strike
Upazila Parishad chairmen and vice-chairmen yesterday threatened to go on fast unto death from June 1 if their 10-point demand is not met by the time.
They announced the protest programme at a press conference organised by Bangladesh Chairmen-Vice-chairmen Okkiyo Parishad at Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU).
So the demands should be fulfilled on urgent basis; otherwise there will be no alternative left but to launch tougher programme, they said.
The association president, Abdul Majid Photo, read out a written statement, saying, "We showed enough tolerance to the government, but they (govt) never heeded our demands."
Although some policymakers assured us of talking about the issue in the parliament and with the prime minister, but no output has been noticed as yet, he said.
"Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury and other lawmakers promised us to resolve the crises through negotiation. If it fails, we will go for tough movement."
Although 26 months have already passed after holding the upazila elections, the government has yet to take any effective measure to strengthen the institutions, he said.
Their demands include establishing upazila parishad as an autonomous body, implementation of Upazila Parishad (Amendment) Act, 2009 and the president order to hand over responsibilities of 13 departments of 10 ministries to the upazila parishad, removal of barriers to exercising power by upazila chairmen as the chief executive and carrying responsibility by a vice-chairman in absence of chairman, and increasing their allowances.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments