BREB officials issue 24 hr ultimatum to remove chairman

The protesting officers and employees of the Palli Bidyut Samitis have issued a 24-hour ultimatum demanding the removal of Major General S.M. Ziaul Azeem, chairman of Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB).

The announcement was made in a press conference held at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka on Wednesday (May 28).

According to the declaration, if the chairman is not removed within the next 24 hours, the Palli Bidyut Samitis across the country will launch a programme to submit all mobile complaint units to the headquarters of their respective Samitis.

The press conference stated that a peaceful sit-in program has been ongoing at the Central Shaheed Minar since May 21, demanding resolution to the ongoing crisis between BREB and the Palli Bidyut Samitis (PBS) through seven key demands. Although the protest has continued for eight consecutive days while maintaining uninterrupted power services, the government has shown no visible initiative to resolve the crisis.

Instead, it was alleged that a malicious campaign is being carried out, branding thousands of PBS employees fighting for their rights as agents of instability. Protesters expressed deep disappointment that despite enduring hardship under the open sky for eight days, the government has neither responded nor taken steps toward a solution.

Three new protest programmes were announced at the press conference:

1. Alongside the ongoing sit-in at the Shaheed Minar, a work stoppage will take place tomorrow in all 80 PBS offices across the country, while ensuring the continuation of essential and uninterrupted electricity services.

2. If the BREB chairman is not removed within the next 24 hours, all mobile complaint units of the PBS will be submitted to their respective headquarters.

3. If the peaceful protest—being carried out while maintaining electricity services—is diverted, suppressed through force, or if there is any attempt to harass workers through false cases as in the past, 45,000 employees of the PBS will be compelled to march towards the Shaheed Minar as part of a long march program.

HKJ