Blackout hampers online business in rural areas

OUR CORRESPONDENTS | Published: August 01, 2024 19:57:19

Entrepreneurs in faraway districts who run businesses online anticipate huge losses due to the nationwide Internet blackout following the violent anti-quota protests.
In Rajshahi, traders say they could not order or sell their products last week. This situation turns more severe for facebook page-based seasonal mango sellers during the peak season of the summer fruit.
Sazdur Rahman, a mango grower at Bagha upazila in Rajshahi, said that they usually get a good price at the end of the season. Therefore, he did not pluck all the mangoes, hoping for handsome profit at the end of the season.
"But now it seems that it would have been better if I plucked and sold all the mangoes earlier. The remaining mangoes have ripen and are rotting in the trees as I could not take them to the local market amid the curfew," he said.
Shakil Ahmed, the owner of Food Acholic, an online-based food supplier, said many of their perishable food items got damaged after the Internet blackout.
Freelancer Shahriar Sayem said that all of their works got suspended due to the Internet blackout.
In Magura, Shohel Islam of the district's Nanduali area said, "I sell cake worth Tk 7000- Tk 8000 per day online. But, there is not a single order in the last three days due to the Interne blackout."
Rojalin Farzana of Hazipur area of Magura Sadar upazila said, "I get women dress orders worth Tk 9,000-10,000 per day online. But the Internet blackout forced my business to halt".
In Chandpur, due to the Internet blackout, online businesses of hilsa and other fishes stopped, translating into huge financial losses for low-income people at different stages of the supply chain, according to online traders Mostofa, Didar and Nurul.
Fish merchants General Secretary Alhaj Shabebarat Sarkar said, "We all are incurring huge losses for the past couple of days."
In Sylhet and Cox's Bazar, the people suffered much as most of the mobile phone top-up agents failed to provide services to customers.
More than 0.1 million (1 lakh) people in Cox's Bazar were suffering as they face difficulty in power top-ups and mobile-based money transfers.