The business community yesterday threatened to take to the streets unless the opposition refrains from calling hartal to keep businesses free from disruption.
Business leaders will launch a campaign after Ramadan to form public opinion against hartal unless the opposition opts out of shutdown, AK Azad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said at a discussion on "Hartal and Economy" at the FBCCI Bhaban in the capital.
He urged political leaders to find resolution to all disputes through dialogue in parliament, not through hartal that hampers business activities.
"If political leaders fail to resolve disputes in parliament and the opposition causes hindrance to business by calling hartal, businesspeople will be compelled to take to the streets to protest such activities," Azad said.
The FBCCI chief said the country now needs huge investment to alleviate poverty by creating employment. But both domestic and overseas entrepreneurs feel discouraged to come up with investment proposals for frequent hartals.
Leaders from different chambers and trade bodies also gave opinions against hartal.
Urging the opposition to resolve the disputes through discussions, Nihad Kabir, vice-president of MCCI, said the country's economy performed well even in the midst of global recession. Now the economic growth should be maintained, she added.
Asif Ibrahim, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businesses cannot afford hartal even for a day but the opposition is calling hartal frequently.
Bangladesh will lose the opportunity to get foreign investments that are available for relocation of investments from China to other countries. Many entrepreneurs are now considering relocation of their factories to Bangladesh, he said.
"Please come out of the hartal culture," he asked the political parties.
Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, feared Bangladesh might lose orders for garment items to competitor countries for frequent hartals.
Bangladesh is now getting a comparatively small number of orders from international buyers for slow economic recovery in the EU, the single largest export bloc for Bangladesh, he added.
Mohammad Hatem, vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said many factory owners will not be able to pay salaries to their workers for disruption to production during hartal. "Political stability is a must for driving the export growth in the garment sector," he said.
FBCCI Director Monowara Hakim Ali said women entrepreneurs suffer the most for hartal as the majority of them own small and medium enterprises.
Source : The Daily Star
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