A long march towards Tripura’s Dumboor Dam has been launched by ‘Inquilab Manch’ in protest of India’s illegal construction of a dam on a Bangladesh-India transboundary river, allegedly violating international law.
As per prior announcements, the march began around 10:30 a.m. on Friday from Shahbagh in the capital, led by Inquilab Manch. On-site observations revealed that students and the public were participating, holding banners and wearing national flags on their heads and hands, while some rode in pickup trucks. They were chanting slogans like, “Delhi or Dhaka, Dhaka Dhaka,” “Freedom not slavery, freedom freedom,” “Inquilab Inquilab,” “Sonia and saffron Modi, have disappeared our rivers,” “India’s murderous dams, Bangladesh’s death trap,” “Padma, Teesta, Abrar, call us to fight once more,” “Why did Swarna Das die? India must answer,” and “Fellani and Swarna Das, their bodies hang on barbed wires.”
From early morning, students and people from various professions gathered in front of the National Museum to join the march. Later, they climbed onto pickup trucks and began the long march.
Before the march commenced, Inquilab Manch spokesperson Sharif Osman Bin Hadi addressed a brief roadside gathering. He said, “For the past 17 years, a fascist regime has been established in the country, preventing anyone from speaking out or protesting against India’s aggression. But now, there’s no fascist in front of us. We are demanding the immediate demolition of all illegal dams India has built on international rivers. This is why we’ve called for this long march today. Our struggle will continue until India’s water terrorism and aggression come to an end.”
Earlier, on Wednesday (September 4) afternoon, Inquilab Manch outlined the route for the long march at a press conference at Dhaka University’s Madhur Canteen. It was announced that the march would hold a roadside meeting at Jatrabari intersection at 10 a.m. and another at Chandina at 2 p.m. A public rally will be held at Cumilla Town Hall at 4 p.m., after which the march will proceed on foot to Bibir Bazar.
