Md Fazlur Rahman
To have a glimpse of the country's bleeding economy, look at Shohagh Paribahan.
The
long-distance bus operator now runs buses between 7:00am and 3:00pm
daily, meaning no bus can leave the capital after 3:00pm. Its night
coach service has been suspended on government directives.
The
company usually runs 15 luxury trips on the Dhaka-Chittagong route, but
now it has come down to just two trips as passengers travel only if
there is an emergency.
The occupancy in the economy class has
almost halved. As a result, 160 out of its 200-strong fleet of buses
have been lying idle since January 6 when the BNP-led alliance enforced
an indefinite blockade.
Shohagh Paribahan is only one of the 250
inter-district bus operators who have been counting huge losses over the
last two months.
The blockade coupled with intermittent strikes
is taking a huge toll on the economy which is facing its toughest test
in decades. Transportation and supply chain have been hit hard.
Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina last week informed parliament that the country
incurred a loss of over Tk 1.20 lakh crore due to the blockade and
hartals.
Several
business chambers put the figure at Tk 2,500 crore in daily average
economic loss. It has hit farm incomes, weakened buyers' confidence in
Bangladesh and put the investors at bay.
The transport sector is
the worst victim of the agitation programme as protesters particularly
targeted the sector for defying their call. As a result, movement of
buses, trucks and lorries remained thin over the last two months. Around
1,200 vehicles have been torched and vandalised during this period.
Faruk
Talukder Sohel, president of Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners Association,
said: “Only people with emergencies are travelling by buses or having
their goods carried by lorries.”
Fearing arson attacks, most
trucks and lorries have stayed off the highways. But those plying the
highways charge higher fares for carrying goods, in some cases double
the usual.
After a lull in last year, many businesses had planned
to set up new units or expand their operations this year, but they have
backed off due to the prolonged political stalemate, said Hossain
Khaled, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Foreign
investors are also not coming to Bangladesh. It's a particular blow for
the country's economy. This happened at a time when some investors are
relocating their factories to other countries from China due to rising
production costs there.
Garment exporters have warned that the
fall in orders would be steep in March-April. A large number of foreign
and local tourists have cancelled their tour plans, hurting the tourism
sector.
The industrial sector, which accounts for 29 percent of
the GDP, has been affected as transportation of raw materials, goods and
products was disrupted.
Farmers could not sell their produce at
fair prices. The supply of agriculture inputs such as diesel and
fertiliser has been affected ahead of the boro season when the country
produces more than half of its rice.
Small businessmen, roadside
shop owners and day labourers are struggling to earn their livelihood.
Many have been rendered jobless.
Zahid Hussain, lead economist at
the World Bank office in Dhaka, said he thought the country's economic
loss from the blockade and strikes would be between $1 billion and $2
billion, meaning it has already cost the country's GDP by 0.6 percent to
0.8 percent.
“This is the immediate cost of production loss due
to the blockade and hartals, which we might be able to recover once
normalcy returns. But we won't be able to recoup the loss of confidence
of investors and buyers in Bangladesh,” he told The Daily Star
yesterday.
The economist said the investment scenario was already
constrained by structural obstacles such as poor infrastructure,
inadequate land and shortage of energy. The blockade and strikes have
worsened the scenario.
“Even if we overcome infrastructural
problems, which might not happen overnight, the investors and buyers
would hesitate to come here because they want long-term stability. So,
we must return to normalcy as soon as possible for the sake of economy,”
he mentioned.
International rating agency Fitch Ratings said
renewed political tension and violence might negatively affect foreign
investors' confidence in Bangladesh, raising risks to economic growth
over the longer term.
DHAKA, March 6, 2015 (BSS)- A delegation of the US Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who arrived in the capital on Wednesday,
started its activities here today for giving support to Bangladeshi
investigators to find out the killers of writer Avijit Roy, who was
murdered on Dhaka university campus on February 26. 
