Against this backdrop, different government policies taken or implemented to revitalise the jute sector have yielded little success; the policies have rather left some negative impacts on the sector.

If the present trend continues, workers and experts fear the three other state-owned jute mills, which are on partial operation now, will be closed in near future. They said the government must take effective measures to address the problems in policies and check corruption through regular monitoring to avoid their shutdown.

The sections rife with rampant corruption include raw jute purchase, machinery and equipment purchase, billing, and recruitment of labours, employees and officers. The leaders taking wages without performing duties added to the increasing graft.

Consequences that followed are delay in providing raw jute for production, sub-standard jute products, irregular production at the factories and ultimately losing local and international markets.

The government for several years took a number of policies to revitalise the jute sector in vain. The policies include the World Bank project of Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP) in 1982 and signing of an agreement titled Jute Sector Adjustment Credit (JSAC) in 1994.

The SAP objectives include privatisation of the government organisations, while the JSAC was aimed only at the jute industries and was supposed to boost the sector through privatisation, decreasing labours, reducing looms, restructuring debts and upgrading technologies. The WB has so far gave Bangladesh Tk 1,500 crore in loan under the JSAC.

"Only corruption is responsible for the closure of the mill, which once was profit-making and we even got a share of the profit. Not a single high official can be found who was not involved in corruption," said Shahadat Hossain Khan, Boro Sarder [senior most post of workers], who joined the Crescent Jute Mills Ltd in 1955 and retired in 1989.

"I fear the other state-owned jute mills will also be shut down soon only because of corruption," he added.

SHUTDOWN OF PJML
Though once profit making, Peoples Jute Mills Ltd (PJML) in Khalishpur in Khulna began to incur loss immediately after independence as individuals made quick bucks and raised huge property.

Even on the closing day on August 1, hundreds of labourers demanded the high officials of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) should submit wealth statements to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

CORRUPTION BY BJMC OFFICIALS
Rampant corruption shrouded the PJML in 1972, one year after independence, with the launch of agencies throughout the country for purchasing raw jute. The concerned officials began to buy low-standard jute and rotten jute at low cost showing higher prices. Since then the mill began to incur heavy loss.

"Setting up of raw jute purchase centres opened the road to corruption. And none hesitated to tread on it," said Shahadat.

"Mill authorities transferred labourers and officers to the raw jute purchase centres in exchange of bribes ranging from Tk 20 thousands to Tk 40 thousands. Besides, the authorities received regular money from the centres through the CBA leaders," he added.

The authorities had to count extra money to ferry the raw jute purchased from distant, often out-of-the-way places, and used to submit fabricated transportation bills. Earlier in pre-independence times, the authorities used to buy raw jute at the mill entrance or jetties on the bank of river Bhairab through wholesale traders.

After signing of the JSAC agreement when the BJMC officials became sure about the government's apparent reluctance in jute sector, corruption increased further. As a result, raw jute supply to the factory was forced to delay regularly causing late production and irregular supply to the buyers and loss of international markets, sources said.

Following the agreement production decreased sharply as number of labourers and looms in operation decreased, while supply of raw jute was also inadequate, the sources added.

To show its activities, the BJMC had sometimes taken measures too little to do any good. It terminated deputy general manager of PJML Krishna Dulal Roy and another finance official for buying rotten jute in 2005. The Corporation changed the project chief of the factory thrice that year.

"I saw the officials buying cheap mechanical parts made in China and showing those made in European countries in the vouchers during submission of bills," said a mechanic section employee. The PJML employee declined to be named as he is still to be paid his dues.

CORRUPTION BY CBA LEADERS
While being involved in other anomalies, the CBA leaders also misappropriated money allocated for repairing factory jetty.

"The CBA leaders also took money amounting from Tk 10,000 to Tk 50,000 from different people and their relatives in case of recruiting employees and labourers," said Abdul Malek, president of CBA, PJML.

"They along with and many of their relatives usually did not take part in work but took bills. And our general secretary Azizur Rahman Akram is missing since the state of emergency was declared," he added.

Akram took overtime bills for 110 days from January 6, 2005 to March 1, 2007 when the mill remained mostly closed due to workers' agitation and lack of raw jute supply.

The workers alleged both the CBA president and the general secretary recruited many employees and labourers receiving bribes. Malek's son also supplied electronic parts, yarn holders and other materials through a process plagued with corruption.

Malek, however, denied the allegations of corruption in recruitment.

The CBA leaders also misappropriated more than half of Tk 7 lakh taken from the factory on different occasions in the name of giving loans to the workers. The CBA after the PJML was laid off in a letter to the authorities recommended cutting of Tk 265 from each worker's dues to realise the money.

The workers also alleged the CBA leaders supplied labourers to political programmes during the tenures of different governments in exchange of money. Though in political programmes, the labourers were shown at work in the attendance sheet.

ROAD TO CLOSURE
The situation worsened when the government stopped giving subsidy to the jute sector in 2003-2004 fiscal year, resulting in immediate stop to payment of labourers' wages.

After the JSAC was signed about 100 labourers were retrenched and about 200 looms were reduced from PJML in phases.

In August 2003, three mills including the PJML and Star Jute Mills Limited were laid off for 45 days without any prior notice. In September the labourers agitated demanding opening of their work place.

The PJML remained closed for over a year in phases in 2004 and 2005 for want of raw jute when the labourers remained workless and arrears began to be piled up.

During the period only 300 out of over 3,000 labourers worked and the production came down to 10-15 tonnes a day against the target of about 70 tonnes.

The then government opened the mill fearing workers' unrest without taking any measures to make the mill effective. The mill resumed operations in the beginning of 2006 but partially.

The PJML labourers demanding their dues agitated again in April 16 this year and stopped working in the factory.

As the three other state-owned jute mills experienced the same, workers of Platinum Jute Mills Ltd, Crescent Jute Mills Ltd and SJML took to the street on April 17 and staged agitations. The mills were laid off on April 19, triggering huge labourers' unrest that left several hundreds injured.

Around 5,000 labourers were retrenched from the factories including 300 from the PJML following the movement.

At long last the PJML established in 1952 was shut down on August 1.

Workers stopped operation in SJML on August 6 demanding wages, while CJML and Platinum Jubilee Jute Mill is in operation with workers hired on daily basis.

When attempted to contact, the DGM of PJML denied meeting the reporter, who was not allowed to enter the BJMC zonal office in Khulna.

"Jute industry in Bangladesh is highly potential due to some comparative advantages considering global market, skilled manpower, friendly environment and high quality of our jute. Still the government can revitalise the sector taking comprehensive packages including bank loan reschedule and research," said Prof Anu Mohammad.

"The policy taken by the government was aimed at destroying our jute sector though in words it seemed pretty good," he added.

"Corruption was abundant in PJML but we could not investigate everything. We don't know whether it was corruption or misappropriation. We have taken some measures to revitalise the sector, but if people of all sector involved in jute and jute industries don't come forward it would be tough to keep the three state-owned jute mills running," said BJMC Chairman Md Atharul Islam.