The Sylhet Bibhag Unnayan Parishad (Sylhet Division Development Council), a Dhaka-based non-partisan forum of Sylhet people, began a month-long agitation programme on Monday with formation of a human chain and holding a rally in the city's Court Point area.

The Greater Sylhet Ganadabi Parishad (Greater Sylhet People's Committee to Realise Demands), another non-partisan forum, at its meeting on Sunday also protested the government decision and discussed an agitation programme, to be announced soon, sources said.

Unnayan Parishad's agitation programme, announced at the rally include a sit-in in front of the Nagar Bhaban on May 22 and a view-exchange programme with professionals on May 28, to be followed by rallies and processions at different puazila headquarters.

Speakers at the rally said tougher agitation will be launched if the government decision is the proposed Shahjalal Fertilizer Plant is not built.

They speakers included Dulal Ahmed Chowdhury, Abdul Khaleque, Md Shawkat Ali, Mojibur Rahman Mojib, Rezwan Ahmed, Jibunnessa Shirin, Humayun Kabir and Md Aaludin. Rafiqul Islam, Sylhet district unit president of the Unnayan Parishad presided.

Some professional and trade bodies will also begin agitation soon.

The then government in 1993 had decided to close down the country's first Natural Gas Fertilizer Factory (NGFF) at Fenchiugnaj, built in 161, on the plea that it was too old to undergo renovation.

As the decision sparked widespread agitation throughout the district, the government formed a committee headed by Prof Iqbal Mahmud, a former vice-chancellor of BUET, to give a report. The committee recommended running and renovation of the mill at a cost of Tk 25 crore.

Since then, the factory is exceeding its yearly production target of 85,000 tons. Small renovation work was done time to time but the 25 crore taka renovation was not implemented.

As per the committee recommendation, the government decided to construct a new factory named Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory on the vacant space adjacent to the old one.

International tenders were floated after ECNEC approval of the new project in 1993. A separate cell styled Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory Project started working at the BCIC (Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation) head office in Dhaka. A signboard was also erected at the site in Fenchuganj.

Recently, the BCIC closed the cell and some of the staff were transferred to NGFF.

Since ECNEC approval, international tender was floated as many as six times for the proposed $ 250 million Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory with a production capacity of 1000 tons of Ammonia and Urea fertiliser daily. The last tender was floated in December 2002, to be responded by February 23, 2003.

Initially, Tk 30 lakh was also spent.

Sources said, the industries ministry at its meeting on March 31 stopped all work regarding the Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory at Fenchuganj and decided to shift the project to Sirajganj. As per a decision of the meeting, BCIC was asked to prepare a project proposal for the Sirajganj project within a month.