‘Lease ghats out to us’
Around 300 Sampan majhis (boatmen) in Chattogram observed a daylong hunger strike in the city's Karnaphuli area protesting the city corporation's decision to lease out Karnaphuli ghats to various organisations.
They said they will not carry passengers until their demand for leasing out the ghat to their representatives.
SM Piyar Ali, president of Karnaphuli River Sampan Majhi Welfare Association, told The Daily Star, "Around 300 boatmen gathered at Sadarghat point of the Karnaphuli river and they kept all the ghats closed from 6am to 6pm during the hunger strike."
They threatened to restart hunger strike, if Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) does not accept their demands.
Piyar Ali said professional sampan boatmen had been taking lease of the ghats to serve passengers for a long time. If the middle of it, the CCC has planned to lease those out to other people, he said.
"Last April, when we applied to the LGRD ministry, it directed the CCC to resolve the dispute," he added.
Sampan Majhi Rabiul Alam told this newspaper that sampan boatmen are already suffering due to coronavirus pandemic. "We went to the CCC authorities several times but they did not pay heed to our demand," he said.
Contacted, CCC Administrator M Khorshed Alam Sujan said they already offered tender and are about to hand over the ghats to the bidders.
"However, we are trying to give those back to the professional sampan boatmen by solving some legal complications. Hopefully, a solution will come out in a few days," he said.
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