The 19th anniversary of Phulbari Tragedy Day will be observed today with the demand of full implementation of the Phulbari agreement signed between the government and the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports.
The national committee and its branches have taken elaborate programmes, remembering the people who were shot dead by law enforcement agencies on August 26, 2006 during a massive protest against Asia Energy鈥檚 move for open-pit coal mining at Phulbari in Dinajpur.
Three demonstrators, Aminul, Salekin and Tariqul, were shot dead and hundreds of people were injured when the Bangladesh Rifles (now Border Guard Bangladesh) personnel opened fire to disperse the protesters.
After four days of the incident, then Rajshahi city mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu, on behalf of the BNP-led government, signed a six-point agreement with the protesters led by the national committee.
The government agreed to cancel multi-national Asia Energy鈥檚 work permit in Bangladesh, scrap plans for open-pit mining, compensate the victims of the BDR firing, and withdraw complaints lodged against Phulbari protesters.
The then leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina, now deposed prime minister, extending her support to the protesters, vowed that she would implement the agreement if she went to power.
But the agreement, however, is yet to be fully executed although 19 years have elapsed, alleged local leaders of the national committee.
The injured are still deprived of due compensation, while the government has not scrapped its plan for an open pit mining at Barapukuria coal field, violating the Phulbari agreement, they said.
Marking the day, the national committee will place wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital at 10:00am today and hold a rally there.
The Phulbari branch of the National Committee will hoist black flags in the morning, wear black badges and place wreaths at Phulbari monument in Dinajpur at 10:00am.
Also, a protest rally will be held at Neemtali crossing in Phulbari at 11:30am, demanding full implementation of the agreement.