Business Desk :
Mahbubul Alam, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), has urged the government to keep the export sector, everyday essentials and organisations related to the Chattogram port out of the purview of the nationwide strict lockdown starting from tomorrow.
In a press release issued on Saturday, Mahbubul Alam said, “We welcome the government’s decision to impose strict lockdown to contain increasing Covid-19 infections because life comes first, livelihood later. So, it is important to control the coronavirus at any cost.”
However, it is also necessary to keep the export sector out of the restrictions so that economic activities do not come to a standstill, he added.
“At the same time, it is important to ensure the uninterrupted supply of imported daily necessities across the country so that no crisis can be created during the pandemic. Considering the matter, it is necessary to keep the port out of lockdown as the port is the main gateway of the country’s import-export operation,” the CCCI president further said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered running port operations round the clock. Port activities can be continued with a limited number of manpower. In this regard, some organisations related to port activities are needed to be open during the lockdown.
The CCCI president urged the government to consider these proposals and include these in the notification for the interest of the country.
On Friday, the government announced a seven-day countrywide strict lockdown from Monday to curb Covid-19 transmission.
