Anti-tobacco Law
50,000 workers rally against govt decision
Our Correspondent, Rangpur
About 50 thousand bidi factory workers of Haragachh and its adjoining areas yesterday held a rally in Rangpur town and laid siege to the office of the deputy commissioner in protest against the government's decision to pass an anti-tobacco law. The bidi workers' leaders said the government must think of creating alternative earning sources for the bidi workers before passing such a law. About 100,000 workers in Haragachh and its adjoining areas earn their livelihood by bidi making, said Aminul Islam, who presided over the rally. If the bidi factories are closed as a consequence of the implementation of the anti-tobacco law, their families will have to starve, he added. The agitating workers kept all main roads blocked from 11:00am to 1:00pm causing huge traffic congestion in the town. After the rally, leaders of the bidi workers handed over a 19-point memorandum to the deputy commissioner and asked him to send it to the prime minister.
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