Businesses fear return of strike ghost

A nine-hour shutdown at petrol stations yesterday annoyed businesspeople and city dwellers, who termed such a strike a barrier to getting rid of the hartal culture in the country.
The strike could not harm the economic activities a lot, but added to the woes of the city and businesses, already choked by nagging power outages and gridlock, some businessmen said.
“When the political parties and others are refraining from strike to break a long negative culture, such a shutdown will really slow down the efforts,” said Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
The government should take pre-emptive actions to avoid strike, he said.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the strike emerges as another challenge to export-oriented industries, now coping with energy shortage.
“Our factories run two-thirds of a day through diesel-fired generators. Disruption in fuel supply hampered our production at many factories,” he said.
The petrol pump and tank lorry owners and workers called off the strike enforced in the morning to press home their 13-point demand.