Al Amin :
The businesses don’t want any more lockdown in the country fearing that it would break backbone of the economy.
Rather, the government can emphasize on maintaining health guidelines and ensuring vaccines for all in order to contain the infection of the new variant of the Covid-19 pandemic, they said.
They said the imposition of the lockdown newly would cause irreparable damage to the country’s business and economy.
The government is repeatedly saying that if the rate of infection continues to rise, strict movement restrictions like lockdown may be imposed again.
But the businesses think that lockdown will not be necessary if the vaccine can be ensured for all on urgent basis.
Mohammad Hatem, Executive President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) told The New Nation, “The Businesses will be paralyzed and the economy will be collapsed again, if the government imposes strict restriction like lockdown.”
“Previous experience proved that corona virus infections can be controlled without lockdown. Lockdown will not be required, if health rules are followed strictly and ensured vaccine for all,” he said. Rizwan Rahman, President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), said, “People have become much more aware now. If most of the people are being vaccinated on an emergency basis, the infection rate will be reduced.”
“The country’s economy was hit hard by the first blow of the pandemic. The economy is now returning to somewhat normal. Under this situation, further imposition of lockdown will break the recovery path,” he said.
Mohiuddin Rubel, Director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said, “We continued our production activities in the second wave of the pandemic by maintaining health guidelines strictly. As a result, the infection rate was under control during that time. Now, we are very much conscious about the pandemic.”
“So, we don’t want any lockdown to continue the current export growth,” Rubel said.
Helal Uddin, President of the Bangladesh Shop Owners’ Association, said, “The government may impose strict health guidelines to curb the infection rate. Thousands of workers will be unemployed, if the government imposes lockdown.”
“Adhering to health rules, making everyone aware about the pandemic required to control the infection,” he added.
The country is facing an unprecedented challenge in dealing with the post-Covid unemployment problem, despite steady economic growth over the past few years.
The unemployment rate in Bangladesh increased from 3.38 per cent in 2010 to 5.3 per cent in 2020, according to a study.
More specifically, it jumped to 5.3 per cent in 2020-the first year of the pandemic-from 4.22 per cent in 2019.
A World Bank report published in 2019 revealed that 32 per cent of public university graduates and 44 percent of private university graduates were without jobs in the country.
