Barishal City Corp employees issue 72-hr ultimatum to stop harassment by ‘students posing as coordinators’
“Those students, who identified themselves as coordinators, are misbehaving with heads of different departments of the Nagar Bhaban and are pressing them to do illegal works,” it states
Employees of the Barishal City Corporation (BCC) have alleged that some students, posing as coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, are harassing chiefs of the corporation's various departments.
They issued a 72-hour ultimatum to authorities concerned to stop such harassment yesterday (7 October).
A memorandum in this regard, signed by 338 BCC employees, has been submitted to the Barishal Divisional Commissioner Shawkat Ali, who is currently serving as BCC administrator, the city corporation's Public Relations Officer Ahsan Uddin confirmed to The Business Standard.
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Copies of the memorandum have also been sent to Barishal Metropolitan Police commissioner, Barishal deputy commissioner and the commander of the relevant Bangladesh Army camp.
The memorandum, seen by TBS, states that the signatories will go into an indefinite work abstention if no steps are taken to address their demands within the stipulated time.
"On 5 August, a new Bangladesh emerged through the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. The officers and employees of the city corporation, their children and relatives were fellow companions [of the students] during the movement, which led to the second independence of Bangladesh in exchange of blood of thousands of students and common people," reads the memorandum.
However, it alleges that some "misguided students", posing as movement coordinators, were harassing city corporation officials in various ways.
"Those students, who identified themselves as coordinators, are misbehaving with heads of different departments of the Nagar Bhaban and are pressing them to do illegal works," it states.
The memorandum alleges that a student, claiming to be a coordinator, pressured the superintendent of the Hat Bazar branch to allow one of their relatives to collect the lease fee for Rupatali and Sagardi markets. "When the Superintendent refused, the student harassed him with baseless allegations."
BCC employees also alleged that the head of the illegal eviction unit is also being pressured to fill water reservoirs, ponds with sand. "When told that there is no legal provision in the law for filling reservoirs, ponds, ponds, the coordinator asked to do it in exchange for money."
The memorandum also claims that some self-claimed coordinators also asked to see the attendance records and confidential documents of the officers and employees of various BCC units.
"They are making derogatory remarks regarding the current BCC chief executive officer and administrator on various issues. Basically, for not accepting the unreasonable demands of student named coordinators, they are demanding the removal of the administrator, chief executives and officers-employees," reads the memorandum.
