4 killed in protests over Chinese-backed power plant in B'desh

At least four people have been killed and 25 others, including policemen, injured in clashes that erupted after protests against the construction of a Chinese- backed power plant on a farmland in northeast Bangladesh.
Clashes erupted yesterday when rival groups of villagers simultaneously rallied near the site of USD 2.4 billion project to oppose the installation of the twin power plants to be built with the help of two Chinese companies at Bashkhali area at the outskirts of the port city of Chittagong.
Police meanwhile said they filed a case charging over 3,000 villagers for vandalism in which 11 members of the law enforcement agency were also wounded.

"Three of the villagers died during the clash and one succumbed to his wounds at a nearby hospital after the clashes with police," a witness said.
The reports said a group of villagers opposed the construction of the proposed plant by a private company fearing loss of their livelihood as the area was suitable for salt and shrimp cultivation.
They alleged S Alam Group, which is set to install the 1320-megawatt coal-based thermal power plant was acquiring the lands using force without any rehabilitation scheme for the residents there.

The two Chinese firms -- SEPCOIII Electric Power and HTG -- are financing USD 1.75 billion of the plants' estimated USD 2.4 billion cost, the Daily Star reported.

The media reports suggested the clash erupted as police intervened at the scene to drive away the rival groups using gunshots.
"Police were attacked when they tried to disperse the warring groups ... They (police) had to use their guns for self-defence," a police official said.
The authorities, meanwhile, launched an investigation with an additional district magistrate as its convenor.