Country鈥檚 business leaders on Monday urged the government to reopen factories across the country and restore internet connection to resume exports and imports business.
At a views exchange meeting with prime minister Sheikh Hasina on the ongoing unrest over the quota reform movement, businesses said that closure of factories and internet shutdown might prompt global buyers to shift export orders to other countries from Bangladesh.
Production in factories has remained suspended since Saturday amid curfew imposed by the government across the country for an indefinite period to control the situation.
The internet connection across the country has remained suspended since July 18 causing a disruption in banking, customs clearing, e-commerce services and e-ticketing among other things.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina informed the businesses that the government was working to restore the internet connection but it was taking time as the system was affected severely due to the attacks.
The prime minister also assured that the government would allow the reopening of factories once the situation turned normal.
鈥業f the factory owners want they can open their factories on their own and if any accident takes place the government will not bear the responsibility,鈥� Sheikh Hasina said in response to their demand.
Most of the business leaders in the meeting praised the leadership of the prime minister for what they said creating a business and investment friendly environment in the country.
Businesses expressed their solidarity with the prime minister saying that they would prefer her staying in power lifetime for the progress of Bangladesh.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina said that the solidarity from business people was necessary for her government to combat the destructive activities of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.聽聽聽聽聽
Country鈥檚 most of the prominent business leaders attended the view exchange meeting held at the prime minister鈥檚 office moderated by the PM鈥檚 private sector adviser Salman F Rahman.
Apex Group managing director Nasim Manzur urged the government to reopen factories from Tuesday.
He proposed factory owners reopen their units through consultation with local administration and shut them if any trouble was sensed.
Nasim, also the former president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka, urged the government to resume transportation from Dhaka to Chattogram for the survival of export industries.
鈥極ur competitor countries have been sending at least five e-mails every day to the buyers saying that Bangladesh would not be able to deliver the goods anymore,鈥� he said.
Requesting the government to resume e-mail communication and starting customs activities manually in ports to start export and import business, Nasim said that Bangladesh鈥檚 export orders would be shifted to other countries otherwise.
Regarding quota reform movement he said that all know how the peaceful and logical student movement turned violent.
He thanked government for its announcement that the real students would not be prosecuted for the movement.
Regarding violence, Nasim raised question whether the government agencies informed the prime minister about the unrest in advance.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association executive president Mohammad Hatem also urged the government to reopen the factories and restore internet connection.
He said that if the factories remained open workers would be safe in the factory premises and if the units remained shut vested quarters could try to use them in destructive activities.
Basundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan said that if the business activities remained stop for one week or one month it would not affect business people claiming that the volume of businesses marked a 14-time increase in the past 14 years during the three consecutive tenures of the government of Sheikh Hasina.
He urged the business people to keep patience saying that it was important to destroy the 鈥榯errorist鈥�.聽聽聽
Sobhan said that there was no power in the world which could stop Bangladesh鈥檚 export business as the production cost in the country was the lowest in the world.
Salman F Rahman said that the incidents in past few days were an outcome of a big conspiracy.
He said that it was clear that the movement was not a movement of student for quota reform, rather a big conspiracy to topple the government.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Mahbubul Alam expressed his solidarity to the government and demanded the punishment of troublemakers.聽
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president SM Mannan Kochi and Bangladesh Association of Banks president Md Nazrul Islam Mazumder claimed that taking advantage of the student movement, a quarter was trying to kill the prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
