Bidi workers form human chain in Rangpur, submit memorandum to Prime Minister

Published: 06 May 2026 : Bidi workers have held a human chain program in Rangpur demanding five points, including not increasing the tax on the bidi industry in the budget and increasing the price of low-grade cigarettes.

The Greater Rangpur Area Bidi Workers Union organized the program in front of the Rangpur Deputy Commissioner's office at 10:30 am on Wednesday (May 6). After the human chain, a memorandum containing five demands was submitted to the Prime Minister through Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ruhul Amin.

Other demands of the workers include increasing the working hours of bidi workers, making it mandatory to hoist bandrolls only if the bidi factory has a license, and stopping the production and sale of fake bidis.

Speakers at the human chain said that bidi is a domestic labor-dependent industry. 1.8 million disadvantaged workers across the country, including the greater Rangpur region, earn their living by working in bidi factories. But the previous fascist government gave various facilities to foreign cigarette companies to destroy this industry. As a result, bidi owners, who provide real revenue, are being forced to close numerous factories.

The speakers also said, 'During the time of martyred President Ziaur Rahman, when there was a proposal to increase tax on bidis in the budget, he clearly said that bidis are cigarettes for poor people. Those who are daily wage workers or rickshaw pullers have very limited means of entertainment. Therefore, increasing tax on bidis cannot increase pressure on them. Therefore, we hope that the current government will not increase the duty on bidis in the next budget to protect the jobs of the bidi industry and workers.'

The workers also said, "Currently, 80 percent of the country's tobacco market is occupied by low-grade cigarettes. Therefore, we strongly demand an increase in the price of low-grade cigarettes to protect the existence of the bidi industry. In addition, fake bidis have become a bottleneck for the bidi industry, which has survived amidst various adversities. The government is losing huge revenue due to fake bidis and the real revenue-paying bidi owners are being harmed. Therefore, to make the country's economy prosperous, necessary measures must be taken to stop the production and sale of fake bidis. At the same time, it must be made mandatory to hoist the bandroll only if the bidi factory has a license." The human chain was presided over by Abul Hasnat Lablu, general secretary of the Greater Rangpur Region Bidi Workers Union, and the organization's president, Amin Uddin BSC, presided over the human chain. Other speakers included Harik Hossain, general secretary of the Bangladesh Bidi Workers Federation, vice-presidents Md. Nazim Uddin, Anwar Hossain, joint secretary Abdul Gafur, organizing secretary Shamim Islam, and others.

Workers holding festoons with slogans such as "Shut down the New East India Company, protect domestic industry, boycott BAT products, remove multinational companies, save bidi workers, if something happens to the bidi industry, fires will burn in every house, British American Tobacco is infecting the lungs and smuggling money abroad" were seen in the human chain.