Hartals bleed the economy
Power and energy crisis has already taken a toll on the industries and now production is sharply decreasing due to hartals. The government's planned activities, for example, infrastructure development, are also getting delayed, affecting the economy and development of the country to a great extent.
Although we are always interested to know the damage on a broader scale on the economy, we, however, pay little attention to state of the low income groups. Drivers, helpers, auto-rickshaw drivers, rickshaw pullers, day labourers and street vendors are all feeling the pinch of shutdowns. According to a sector-wise study by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry, incomes of these groups are halved during hartal days. They have little or no alternative sources of incomes. Hawkers and street vendors see their incomes go down by almost 50-60 per centon hartal days. Again, a farmer, who has had a very good harvest of vegetables but could not bring his product to the market due to unavailability of transports during a series of hartals, is incurring a huge financial loss of his own. If the situation continues, the economy will face contraction.
Last but not the least, the banking sector has been playing a pivotal role in the country's development but the activities of the banks and non-bank financial institutions have been severely affected by hartals. Since new investment has got stuck, financial institutions' scope has also been squeezed. Furthermore, some factory owners are also finding it difficult to repay their loans, increasing the NPLs (non-performing loans).
The economic growth and development of the country over last one decade or so seem to be a puzzle even to the economists of the world, given that the country has seen a noticeable growth during global recession. However, the way our economy suffers today due to sustained political crisis, we might observe the overall impact in the coming days in a more aggravated way.
We all know that the key to the improvement of the present situation lies in the hands of the two main parties but we do not know when they will use that and the things will change for the better. To make that happen, the ruling party and the opposition need to sit for a dialogue to resolve the prolonged political gridlock. Otherwise, we might have to pay the price dearly in the coming days. Let's hope for the best!
Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/index.php?ref=MjBfMDVfMTRfMTNfMV82XzE2OTMxNw==