Palli Bidyut staffers postpone ultimatum, will sit with govt: Mahfuj Alam

Leaders of the Palli Bidyut Samity (PBS) Anti-Discrimination Movement have promised to postpone their ultimatum of enforcing a "complete shutdown" across the country following calls from the government to discuss their demands.

"The government has reached out to Palli Bidyut Samity protesters and asked them to discuss their demands with government representatives. They have promised to suspend the movement for the time being. They are keen to sit down with the government. We have also promised to sit down with them and resolve the issue," Mahfuj Alam, special assistant to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, told the media at a press briefing this afternoon (17 October).

Earlier on the day, several coordinators of the protest, including PBS Assistant General Manager Rajan Kumar Das, Deputy General Manager Asaduzzaman Bhuiyan and others were arrested across the country.

The protestors later met with Mahfuj over the matter, said AGM Abdul Hakim, another coordinator of the protest.

"The officers and employees of PBSi suspended the protest till Sunday as the CA's special assistant promised that the detained officials will be released and the issues raised by the PBS protesters will be resolved," he said.

"The special assistant to the CA asked for time to discuss our demands. We decided to suspend the protest as he promised to withdraw the case and release the detainees without any harassment," he told the media.

PBS staffers earlier issued a 12-hour ultimatum to meet their demands, including the removal of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) chairman; reinstatement of 20 PBS officials who were terminated yesterday (16 October) and today and others who were transferred today; the withdrawal of the false cases against movement coordinators and protesters, and meeting their two original longstanding demands.

If a circular, meeting their demands, is not issued within the deadline, 45,000 officers and employees of 80 PBSs will go on a nationwide complete shutdown and a long march to Dhaka, reads a statement.

The PBS also cut connections to 30 districts spelling woes for 1.20 crore people. 

Criticising the PBS protesters at an event today, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General of BNP said the "ghost of dictatorship" was very much present in rural electricity.

"Here in the rural power authority in the last 15 years, all third- and fourth-class employees of Awami League, Jubo League, and Sramik League have been selected. They are in a new conspiracy. Why are power plants being shut down one after another, why are those involved not caught?" he said.