One after another blockade is going on in the fall of the government. With this, the government of Sylhet, supported and benefited by some media campaigns, wants to understand that the blockade is not having any effect on the city. Everything is normal in their eyes. They will move to spread misleading information avoiding the reality of the blockade in a one-eyed policy. However, due to the negative effects of the blockade, the wheels of Sylhet’s economy are motionless. People’s life is getting stuck due to such shock of local economy. Local traders are in dire straits. Medium and light manufacturing companies now have their hands on the head. Survival has become a liability in the ongoing crisis.
Meanwhile, many are planning to close their businesses and leave the country. Expatriate investment has stopped, their interest in the country has decreased. Sylhet’s economy is going to be at serious risk because of this, aware people think. Local citizens are at overall security risk. Jan is also concerned about the security of the goods. Although there are many reasons behind this, many believe that the political situation is the main reason. Because legal aid is now considered party favor. Our public’s tacit support for the ongoing blockade seems to be the case. Ordinary people are not going out on the streets without much necessity. A small number of vehicles leave but operate at local locations. In such a situation, the local economy of Sylhet is shaken by the siege.
According to sources of Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the ongoing blockade of BNP-Jamaat is causing a financial loss of about 300 crore rupees daily in Sylhet district. Some of the top businessmen of the city’s port market said that political violence has affected all aspects of Sylhet. Trade and commerce, the main driving force of the economy, have been disrupted by the continuous blockade. There is economic depression in the city. Some leaders of the Bandar Bazar Merchants Association said that the business has collapsed due to continuous blockade and strike. The workers are not able to leave the house normally. Business that used to be done in one day, now it is not done even in three days.
Abul Hossain, the former president of Companiganj Press Club, known as Pathar Rajya, said that the people of Companiganj are suffering. Upazila’s lucrative stone business, sand business closed. Laborers are unable to work regularly. Although the shops in the market are somewhat open, there is no sale at all. If this situation continues, people will die of hunger due to financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the tourist centers of Sylhet, which have contributed greatly to the economy, are also suffering from tourist drought. As a result there has been stagnation in the life of businessmen and workers there. Due to the lack of expected tourists, the tourism traders and those involved in this sector are facing financial loss. The people concerned claim that they have suffered huge losses due to the lack of tourists coming to Sylhet due to the blockade in the last one week. President of Sylhet Tourism Club Humayun Kabir Liton said that the tourism season starts in Sylhet from October. Sylhet is crowded with millions of tourists in November-December. But at the beginning of the tourist season Sylhet has become devoid of tourists due to BNP-Jamaat rally, strike and blockade. Tourism related people are in trouble.
