Hundreds of workers have formed a human chain to reduce the tax on bidi industry from this fiscal year 2020-21 to run the industry smoothly.
They also sought the special and the positive intervenes of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to reduce the recently hiking tax on bidi as the unemployed workers to continue their livelihood by resuming their jobs in respective factories.
The demands were placed to the journalists from a human chain under the banner of ‘Bangladesh Bidi Sramik Federation’ in front of Press Club in the Tangail district on Sunday morning.
The helpless workers and leaders also sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister through Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the district.
The other demands are withdrawal of recently hiking of 4 percent tax on each packet of bidi and stimulating the financial assistance to the bidi workers and traders amid the corona pandemic.
The speakers also requested the authorities concerned to fix the price of each packet of low quality cigarette at Tk 100 while each packet of bidiTk 10 only and taking initiative to ban of duplicate bidi in the markets across the country.
Citing the Premiere’s previous instruction to reduce tax on bidi industry for fiscal year 2009-10 as the livelihood of workers, traders and cultivators move their lives smoothly, but ignoring the order, a vested quarter have increased 4 percent tax in each packet from the beginning of the current fiscal year while they hiked only two percent in each packet of low and medium level cigarettes that clear the conspiracy against the bidi industry, speakers said.
Following the hiking tax on bidi, maximum owners and producers have closed their factories that snatching the livelihood of several lakh ultra-poor bidi workers and small traders, they said.
Bangladesh Bidi Workers Federation’s Central President MK Rahman, Fenreral Secretary Abdur Rahman, Tangail unit President MdLutfar Rahman, district General Secretary MdJasim Uddin, and Organizing Secretary Md Aslam Mia, among others, were present, in the program.
