Immediate steps needed to help flood-hit people

The government should take some immediate steps to support flood-affected people of Sylhet. It can provide loan without interest to micro, small and medium businesses, rehabilitate the poor, ensure medicines and doctors for them at all upazilas, exempt VAT to boost tourism sector, allow excavation of stone and sand for employment generation and dig rivers for smooth flow of water, says President of Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Tahmin Ahmed to The Business Post’s Rafikul Islam in an interview

Flash flood hit Sylhet hard. Please, tell us about the current situation.

Now we are passing through a difficult time after the flood. We are grateful to public and private organizations as well as the people who supported us by providing meals and medicine in our bad days.

Around 70 per cent water has receded from the city while 30 per cent water is still there in some low-lying parts of different upazilas of Sylhet. If it doesn’t rain anymore all places of the district will get dried within next 7-10 days.

However, we lost around Tk300-400 crore due to flash flood.

What types of challenges are you facing now?

Since the Covid-19 pandemic we have been facing a lot of challenges. The flood has added to the people’s woes.

There are around 25,000 micro and small businesses like shopkeepers who don’t see any way to turn around for survival. Big businesses can overcome their challenges but micro, small and medium businesses have to face immense challenges owing to financial crisis.

So, we request the government to grant at least Tk50 lakh to Tk1 crore loans per head to businesses without interest for at least one year to overcome the challenges.

Besides, all poor people particularly who lost houses during flood should be rehabilitated soon. Additionally, the government should provide 1 lakh day labourers with Tk1-3 lakh each.

Is manufacturing sector facing any gas and electricity problems there?

The government funded around Tk1200 crore in 2016 to provide uninterrupted electricity services in Sylhet but we don’t get the service properly here. The electricity goes out at least 5 times daily. As a result, manufacturing industries like ceramic, packaging and food processing are in the hot water. The big problems lie in the supply chain and border trading.

Earlier, our trade transaction was Tk10-12 crore daily in the district which came down to Tk3-4 crore following the flash flood.

As Sylhet is well-known for tourism sector, how can it be revamped now?

Sylhet is one of the most attractive tourist destinations of Bangladesh. It was recovering from economic losses after Covid-19 pandemic. But the flash flood puts the industry in deep soup again. Among the trades, residential hotels and restaurants were mostly affected and counted huge economic loss.

The sector which employs nearly 20 lakh people had to count huge losses.

The government should exempt the 15 per cent VAT on meals and accommodations for at least next one year to revamp the tourism sector of the district.  

Are you looking forward to any government policy support?

The Sylhet region is facing the worst situation due to stagnant water after heavy rainfall. There are more than 20 rivers but they have not long been dredged for which rain water is stuck in the city for a long time.

We request the government to allow people to excavate stones and sand from riverbeds. As we have not been able to excavate them over the last 15 years, navigability length of the rivers has been reduced blocking the smooth water flow. Now if the government permits, a huge number of people will get job amid the crisis. In this context, the bureaucratic complexity should be removed as soon as possible. Hence, a divisional committee can be formed for better solution.

Since the establishment of the SCCI in 1966, what have been your major achievements in the last 55 years?

The chamber has been working for the sake of the interest of the local business community since its inception.

Our proposals were to set up airport, build highway, run London-Dubai flight from Sylhet and cargo Biman service which have already been implemented.  Besides, SCCI has contributed a lot to local trade and economy.