Bangla opposition comes together on natural gas exports

kolkata: the question of natural gas export from bangladesh to india and other foreign countries is turning into a major political issue facing begum khaleda zia's coalition government. this is because export of bangladeshi gas has united the opposition by providing it with a common cause. prominent opposition parties have already formed groups to protest against what they call a "sell-out" of the country's interests to "foreign powers".these groups have drawn up elaborate plans to organise protest rallies against sale of the country's natural gas throughout bangladesh. leading the anti-gas-sale lobby is the awami league. al supremo and former prime minister sheikh hasina has already threatened to launch a movement. joining the brigade are communist party of bangladesh (cpb) led by manjul ahsan khan and saidullah choudhury. also joining the agitation are the jatiya samajwadi dal (jasad). for jasad, the movement is being spearheaded by hasanul haque inu. interestingly, a group of intellectuals have also lent their weight to the cause under the the banner of gas-tel suraksha committee (gas-oil security committee). the shramik dal has also pledged its support. on october 29, the cpb has already staged a gherao of the us embassy in dhaka. the procession was stopped by the police before it reached the embassy. more such agitations have been planned in the next few days. according to intelligence sources, a us petroleum major has submitted a report to relevant bangla authorities on october 31, estimating the value of the country's gas exports. according to the estimate, bangladesh will earn taka 20,000 crore over the next 20 years by exporting its natural gas. the matter came up during prime minister khaleda zia's meeting with indian security adviser brajesh mishra who was in dhaka recently. but mishra's meeting with the former prime minister sheikh hasina has reportedly been stormy, with the latter taking a tough stand on the issue of gas exports and laying of pipeline from bangladeshi gas fields to new delhi.