Traders of Chandni Chawk Shopping Complex in the city passing an idle time Sunday, as their business activities came to a halt on the first day of the BNP-led 18-party alliance\'s nationwide 84-hour hartal. — FE Photo The country's shop owners are planning to go for a movement against the hartal programmes as they have to count losses to the tune of Tk 1.0 billion a day during shutdowns, the sector leaders have claimed.
If such frequent shutdowns take place, the shop-owners will also consider raising their demand for compensation for the hartal-induced losses, both from the government and the political parties concerned, they mentioned.
"Neither the government could ensure our protection nor the opposition parties proved themselves to be carrying out peaceful political activities. The situation has left millions of shop-owners in an uncertainty," secretary general of Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity (Shop Owners Association), S A Kadir Kiron told the FE Sunday.
"We will first demand compensation from both the ruling and the opposition parties. If they don't care about our demand, then we will go for a tough movement to ensure our own rights," he added.
He said almost one-fourth of the total population of the country directly or indirectly are dependent on shop business. The fate of these people has now become virtually bleak due to the violent political activities.
"More than 40 million people of the country are directly or indirectly dependent on our business. These people are now passing time in an uncertainty due to the fast-deteriorating political situation," he added.
According to the association leader, 2.5 million members of the body have around 7.5 million employees, and the rest 30 million are their dependants. "Our recent study shows shop owners, both at retail and wholesale levels, incur loss to the tune of one billion taka on each day of hartal. Ninety-five per cent of our members do not have the capacity to bear this loss." Kadir Kamal, a shop owner at the city's Basundhara Shopping Mall, said many shop-owners would not be able to pay salaries to their staff in the coming months if the situation lingered.
"We have to earn at least two thousand taka every day to pay the rents of our shops barring the staff salaries. If we are forced to shut our shops, then how the amount will be managed?" he questioned.
"If the situation persists, then most of the shop-keepers will fail to pay rents and salaries in the coming months," Mr Kamal further added.
Demanding a non-party polls-time government and protesting the arrest of some BNP central leaders, the BNP-led 18-party alliance called an 84-hour shutdown from yesterday, the longest one during this government's tenure.
The hartal will leave only one working day this week. The last week saw only two working days due to a 60-hour shutdown.
Besides, the BNP high-ups are planning to enforce a five-day countrywide hartal from November 17 to protest "the repression and wholesale arrest of the opposition leaders," according to news published in different dailies.
The 18-party opposition combine had enforced hartal programmes for 120 hours in the previous two weeks. The fresh shutdown comes amid calls from business leaders and foreign diplomats to shun hartal.
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