Hundreds of port workers staged a mass hunger strike on Saturday to protest the interim Government’s decision to lease out Bangladesh’s main commercial seaport in southeastern Chattogram to foreign operators, amid a volatile political landscape ahead of the February elections. "The decision has been taken against the national interest. This decision will not be accepted under any circumstances," Anwar Hossain, leader of the Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), an apex body of worker unions, told the rally at the port city.
The token hunger strike, joined by activists from various workers’ and political organisations, came a month after the port workers began protests against Professor Muhammad Yunus’ plan to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to UAE-based operator DP World. The protestors said the NCT at Chattogram port — Bangladesh’s main trade gateway — was built with “domestic funds and modern technology” while it emerged as the country’s “most successful container terminal”. Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter and relies heavily on Chattogram port for most of its imports and exports. Soon after assuming power after last year’s violent street campaign that toppled then prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Government, Yunus insisted the facility —- strategically located on the Bay of Bengal — should be handed over to the “best operator in the world”.
His insistence sparked immediate reactions among security experts and protests in the political arena, which faded from public focus amid subsequent political turmoil. However, it resurfaced in September when Yunus said Bangladesh never explored the full potential of the Bay of Bengal, though it was “an integral part of our country” and expressed his Government’s desire to upgrade ports at southwestern Cox’s Bazar, Matarbari, and Maheshkhali. “These ports can foster a regional economy and strengthen economic ties with Nepal and the Seven Sisters , benefiting all parties," he said at the ceremonial signing of the Charter.