Livelihoods of two crore people will remain uncertain if the jute industry is destroyed as per the prescriptions of donor agencies such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund, CPB leaders said in a statement.

CPB President Manjurul Ahsan Khan and General Secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim also urged the government to take steps, including adequate budgetary allocation, on emergency basis to save the jute industry.

They also called on the government to cancel layoffs in different jute mills, including People's Jute Mill in Khulna, pay salary arrears and other benefits to workers and start operation of jute mills to continue production.

In another statement, the CPB leaders expressed concern over the police attacks on farmers who demanded adequate supply of fertiliser in Rajshahi and Bhola.

The government should take action against the bureaucrats who failed to distribute fertilisers in a systematic manner, the leaders said.

Meanwhile, Jatiya Krishak Samity and Bangladesh Khetmajur Union, two associations of the farmers and labourers, said the agriculture sector would be severely affected as the government has failed to ensure adequate supply of fertiliser.

In a statement, they demanded that the government set up more fertiliser distribution centres across the country to resolve the crisis.