Jamuna Fertilizer Company Limited (JFCL), country's one of the largest urea producing company, remains shut for nearly seven months due to gas crisis.
Around 3,000 to 3,500 workers in the factory have become unemployed, said local sources.
Valuable machinery parts of the factory are likely to be damaged due to the factory being non-operational.
According to factory workers and locals, JFCL began commercial operation in 1991 in the Karakandi area of Sarishabari Upazila, Jamalpur District, with a production capacity of 1,700 tonnes per day. However, due to low gas pressure and various issues, the factory has been producing only 1,250 tonnes of urea per day.
The company supplies fertilisers to farmers through around 1,900 dealers of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) in 162 upazilas of 21 districts of the northern region including Mymensingh, Sherpur, Jamalpur and Sirajganj districts.
Due to its high quality, this fertiliser is in greater demand among farmers.
Due to the gas crisis, the factory’s production paused on January 15 this year. Therefore, around 3,000 workers, directly or indirectly involved with the factory, became jobless. Hundreds of trucks, used to transport goods, are lying around the factory for a long time.
Shohag, Anis, and other truck drivers told the Business Post that their income had stopped with the closure of the factory. They are managing their family expenses by taking out loans. They urge the government to take the necessary initiatives to solve the gas crisis and resume the factory’s operation.
The factory’s valuable machinery parts are at high risk of damage. The authority is concerned over the loss of thousands of crores of taka products.
Farmers fear a fertiliser shortage during the upcoming Aman season if the factory does not resume its operation soon. Additionally, farmers and dealers believe that if the factory remains closed, the price of granular urea fertiliser may increase further.
Jamuna Fertilizer Company’s Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) President Rabiul Islam said that it costs Tk 18,000-20,000 to produce one tonne of urea fertiliser at the Jamuna Fertilizer Company. Whereas, the same amount costs Tk 1,00,000 if imported from abroad.
He further said that if the factory’s operation does not resume within a few months, the government will have to pay subsidies of thousands of crores of taka. Several thousands of workers associated with the factory’s transport and production became unemployed due to the closure of the factory. They are spending their days with uncertainty about the opening of the factory.
When asked about the reopening of the factory, the Managing Director of the Jamuna Fertilizer Company Abu Saleh MdMoslehUddin could not specify when the gas supply would return to normal or when the factory would reopen. He said that the factory is completely ready for production, but it is not possible to operate without the necessary gas supply.
He further said that the factory needs 45 million cubic feet of gas daily to remain operational, but only a maximum of three million cubic feet is available. Due to the fuel crisis, Titas Gas Authority is unable to supply the required amount of gas. Therefore, the factory has been closed since January 15.
