Jute growers and traders under the banner of Bangladesh Jute Growers and Traders Association (Bangladesh Pat Chashi O Pat Beboshai Samittee) demanded official reopening of at least 10 jute mills out of the 26 closed jute mills under Bangladesh Jute Mill Corporation (BJMC).
They came up with the demand at a press conference organised by the association at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Monday.
Md Abdul Aziz, organising secretary of the association, said that there are 26 state-owned jute mills under the BJMC were closed on July 1, 2020 through a notice. But after three and a half years, no mill is started yet.
He added, “If a few mills were reactivated in three specific areas, small traders could revert to their previous occupations, rejuvenating economic activity in the mills area”
Moreover, it would have been possible to play a meaningful role in the development of Bangabandhu’s dream golden Bangladesh by earning a large amount of foreign currency by exporting the produced jute products abroad, he furthered.
“This requires only a declaration of opening of the mill on government initiative, identifying problems and solving them properly,” he said.
President of Bangladesh Jute Growers and Traders Association Md Hasan Ali said that Bangladesh is the most affected country due to climate change. During the severe drought in June-July, the sprawling green jute trees balance the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air.
“Failure to promptly reopen the 10 jute mills through government intervention could lead to the collapse of the jute market. The current market situation has caused the value of jute, previously worth Tk 5000, to plummet to a range of Tk 1500-2500. Therefore, urgent government action is imperative", said Md Harun-Ur-Rashid, general secretary of the association.
The central leaders of the association Abdul Malek Bhuiyan, Mujib Hossain Chowdhury, Nadem Dutt, Md Marfat, Enamul Haque Babul, among others, were also present at the press conference.
