The hosiery markets of Narayanganj’s Deobhog and Noyamati have been affected seriously due to violence, clashes centring quota reform movement and ongoing curfew imposed by the government.
Due to the clashes, markets were closed, and transportation was later disrupted due to curfews for several days. Local businesses are worried about significant losses as they cannot supply goods to remote areas of the country on those days, according to local businessmen.
On a recent visit to hosiery markets in Noyamati, Deobhog and Ukilpara of Narayanganj, this correspondent found that this marketplace was not as crowded as it used to be and the usual hustle and bustle of buying and selling was absent among the shopkeepers of around 5,000 shops. Moreover, those making some sales are often forced to sell on credit.
Narayanganj residents are still in fear of the violence and clashes amid quota reform protests from July 18 to July 21. However, everyone is trying to forget those events and resume their business activities quickly, said several shopkeepers in the Noyamati area.
A businessman from the Noyamati area, Babul Mia told The Business Post, “As we are still recovering from the losses that occurred in the Covid-19 pandemic and from the fire in Bangabazar, another significant blow hit the hosiery business due to the recent violence and clashes centring from the quota reform movement. Altogether, we, the hosiery business owners are suffering losses of several thousand crores of taka.”
Shoilen Biswash, a garment worker from the same area, said that in past few years, businessmen have faced several challenging situations: the coronavirus pandemic, the fire at Bangabazar, and most recently, the nationwide clashes over quota reforms. Because of these issues, hosiery goods from Narayanganj could not reach the districts across Bangladesh where they were usually sent.
He added that additionally, many of the customers could not make transactions due to the disruption of Internet and banking services. As a result, our business was completely stagnant for the past week. Although limited internet service resumed on July 24, banking transactions were still not possible. The situation has somewhat normalised since July 25,
However, due to the curfew, wholesalers from distant areas including Dhaka still cannot come. Consequently, the sales have not returned to normal and if this situation continues, losses will increase, he further added.
Ashraful, a trader from the Deobhog area, told The Business Post that Narayanganj’s hosiery products are famous all around the country. Violence centring on the student’s quota reform movement, this industry has been significantly adversely affected. Transactions of thousands of crores from this industry came to nearly zero.
Traders from Narayanganj said that within the past week, during the violence and curfew, they have faced losses of around several thousand crores of taka. The traders urge the government to maintain a stable situation so that they can operate their business smoothly.
