Shawdesh Desk:

The people living in Mirsharai Upazila of Chattogram have been facing an acute crisis of safe drinking water for a long time. Many of them are not getting water even after installing deep tube wells. Later they realised that they are not getting water as Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM) factory is extracting groundwater with high capacity deep tube wells.

It prompted local people to protest but BSRM authorities turned a deaf ear to their concerns.

Now, local MP Engineer Mosharraf Hossain has lent his weight to the protest.

The lawmaker warned that “If the factory authorities fail to bring water from the nearby Feni river as per their initial promise, the factory would be closed for two months.”

He also gave an ultimatum to relocate the factory to the economic zone within two years.

Participating in a human chain formed in front of the BSRM factory in Jorarganj on Sunday afternoon, the Awami League central presidium member also made several demands.

He said, “Residents of eight unions and a municipality of the Upazila are not getting water as the BSRM factory is extracting groundwater by installing 10 to 12 deep tube wells of high capacity illegally for the last ten years.”

“The factory would be closed for two months. No raw material will enter the factory,” he added.

The MP claimed that “The BSRM authorities cheated the local people.  They have seized all the forests in the area in collusion with the forest officials. Besides, they grabbed a small canal depriving the farmers of their due share of water. They are using electricity from the national grid, though they promised to produce electricity.”

Rezaul Karim Khokon, mayor of Baraiyarhat and convener of the event said, “If the deep tube wells are not closed, we will force the administration to stop all the activities of the BSRM factory as per the decision of our MP.”

The local administrative officials, including Mirsharai Upazila UNO Minhajur Rahman and Jorarganj Police Station Officer in Charge Nur Hossain Mamun, informed BSRM authorities of all the demands that came from the event.

The UNO said, “We urged the BSRM authorities to implement the demand immediately.”

Tapan Sengupta, deputy managing director of BSRM Group, declined to make any comment regarding the issue, though he said he was aware of the protest.

It is learnt that BSRM, one of the leading steel manufacturing companies, has established two large billet casting plants in Mirsharai, Chattogram. Though they promised to use water from the nearby Feni river, they are now extracting groundwater by installed some deep tube wells breaking the promise.

Local people are also dissatisfied with the factory because of their illegal activities like grabbing of forest lands, deforestation, grabbing of a one kilometre long canal that flows round-the-year.