Rajshahi economy hit hard

The agriculture-based rural economy and small businesses in Rajshahi district are going through hard times and counting losses due to the political unrest and frequent shutdowns since late February.
Unavailability of vehicles to transport the harvest to markets and cold storages means the agricultural products are left to rot in the fields while depriving the farmers of just prices.
Vegetables like bitter and pointed gourds, tomato, garlic and cucumber are being sold at half price due to the discolouration and weight loss resulting from long storage and the low turnout of wholesale buyers in markets.
Masud Rana, a potato farmer of Rajshahi's Tanore upazila, said the majority of his harvest on eight bighas of land was rotting following the shutdowns.
A fellow farmer, Shipon Karigar, said just three weeks back he had sold potatoes at Tk 750 per 90 kilogrammes but as of last Monday the figure had come down to Tk 400. “What are we to do?” he asked.
Sunil Das, a rice trader of Shitli village, said last month he suffered a loss of Tk 2 lakh after buying paddy at Tk 700 to Tk 800 per maund and later being forced to sell those at Tk 500 per maund.
“If hartals continue like this, we will not be able to recover from the losses,” said Aminul Islam of Mohonpur who sells betel leaf, which grows aplenty in Mohonpur, Bagmara and Durgapur upazilas and are even exported abroad.
Fruit traders are also counting losses due to the lack of buyers on hartal days.
Unable to transport vegetables to different cities including Rajshahi and Dhaka from Tanore, Saiful Islam, a vegetable trader, said he was incurring a loss of Tk 50,000 daily.
He said there were hundreds of others whose lives depended on transporting vegetables and other crops.
The small shops are forced to stay closed for nearly half the month while their owners are still having to pay the whole month's rent, employees' salary, and electricity, telephone and other necessary bills.
M Rofiqul Islam said he was able to open his IT-based shop in Rajshahi New Market for only 14 days in February and 17 days in March. “Now it has become difficult to bring in even one tenth of my average monthly income,” he said.
Stating that agricultural losses would be dangerous for the region's economy, Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industries President Abu Bakkar Ali urged politicians to consider the plight of the farmers and traders.