A German buyer’s terrible transport strike experience

A German buyer has had bitter experiences during his first visit to Bangladesh due to the ongoing nationwide transport strike.

On Wednesday morning, he was stuck on road for three and a half hours.

"This morning, a German buyer of mine had an appointment to visit my factory in Narayanganj. When he reached Demra area in the city at 9am, the road was blocked at that time. Then his driver took another road to reach the destination but could not move forward because of the strike," said MB Knit Fashion Ltd Managing Director Mohammad Hatem.

"The situation got worse at that point as he could not go backward either," Hatem said.   

MB Knit Fashion Ltd is a knitting garment producer.

Hatem said he talked to the superintendent of police in Narayanganj about the buyer's situation but no step was taken for an hour.

"Then I called Abdus Salam, director general of the industrial police, and he sent a team to rescue my buyer. Now my buyer is taking rest in his hotel in the capital," he said.

"How will we do business if this is the scenario of our country?" said Hatem, who is also the first vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

He called on the government to strictly handle the issue that caused the strike.

"This is taking a serious toll on the economy and is also tarnishing the image of our country," said Hatem.

The transport strike was called by the Bangladesh Truck Covered-Van Owners Workers Oikya Parishad.

Talking with The Business Standard said the Newage Group Vice chairman Asif Ibrahim said, "The truck and transport strike has crippled the movement of garment raw materials from Chittagong port to factories and exports are halted as factories can't transport goods to the port after final inspection." 

"Workers are not being able to go to the factories as small buses and microbuses are being stopped by the transport workers" he added. 

"The lifeblood of the economy - the ready-made garments sector - cannot be held hostage no matter who is striking," added Asif Ibrahim, who is also director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.