Sylhet Correspondent :
Sylhet Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) organised a human chain in front of the chamber building in the city on Sunday.
The leaders of SCCI said BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia is out to hatch conspiracy against 15 lakh students of the country. They threatened for a tougher programme if Khaleda does not abandon her non-stop action programmes.
Businessmen from Sylhet demanded the political parties end the ongoing political violence immediately in order to save the country and its economy.
The protesters also demanded the government take proper steps to save lives and properties on highways for smooth operation of the country’s economy.
Around 200 businessmen from 16 different trade bodies participated in the programme, holding the national flag with the slogan ‘Country is above all; Save the country, save its economy.’
Speakers at the rally referred to the recent arson and petrol bomb attacks, saying burning down lives and property is not a political movement, but is destructive activity that bodes ill for the prosperity of the economy.
SCCI President Salah Uddin said: ‘We want the government’s assurance of the protection of our manufacturing goods and products which are being destroyed while being transported due to violence on the streets. How are we going to pay the tax is our businesses are repeatedly affected by such incidents?’
It is high time for the government to resist the countywide violence that putting the county’s financial system into at stake, bussines said.
They also urged the government for taking stern steps to bring a halt to the ongoing political turmoil for the sake of safeguard of the county’s economy.
Businesspersons from across the city and its outskirts took to the streets yesterday to protest against the ongoing violent blockade and frequent hartal by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
The speakers said the BNP’s agitation had cost the national economy billions of Taka in losses and they also feared Bangladesh would miss its growth target due to the adverse impact of strikes and blockades.
‘The political parties should come to a conclusion avoiding the violence in the name of political events for the sake of the country and its economy,’ he said.
