Letters to the editor

Effects of hartal, blockade and the like

Sir
Most of the hartals or strikes in Bangladesh have a devastating impact not only on economy, production, import, export and business but also tremendous negative impact on the  overwhelming  majority, especially the vulnerable, destitute, poor, women, children, youth, adolescents and elder people as well as domestic and foreign investment.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2005 conducted a study on the impact of hartal on Bangladesh economy.  According to it, in between 1947 and 1958 period, the average number of hartals per year including local hartals was 1.5 days.
But over the years the average number of hartals have prolonged beyond imagination. For example, in year 1999-2000 at least 110 days of  hartals were observed, Moreover, since year 2001 to 2013 hundreds of days have been observed as hartals days and most of these hartals were very brutal, destructive and devastating in nature. According to the UNDP estimate,  hartal on an average , took away 4.5 per cent of GDP per annum during 1991-2000 period. No doubt this figure has exceeded more than 10 per cent per annum on the recent occasions of hartals.
Hartal restricts  free movement of people , properties are destroyed and economic activities are forcefully curbed. Even many valuables lives are subjected  to appalling burns by either picketers or unruly mob. For example, like many innocent people and commuters, Monir, a student of class five became the victim of political violence  during December, 2013. More than two hundred people died from burn injuries in the nearly three months long continuous  hartal and blockade programme that was enforced by the opposition towards the end of 2013.   More than 75 people sustained severe burn injuries in the last two weeks of December as some passenger vehicles including  rickshaw, CNG operated three wheeler and covered vans and trucks  were set  on fire. Moreover, many passengers and drivers sustained severe injuries as some goods-laden truck skidded off the road and overturned due to picketers in many highways during this period.   
According to Computable General Equilibrium (GCE)
model statistics, a day  of hartal eats up approximately USD 1.0 billion of the country's national gross domestic product. It is easy to calculate the micro level loss and damage  incurred due to hartal. But is it possible for us to assess the loss of millions of bread winners’ sufferings, hardship and starvation out of such hartal game?
Is it also possible to know the mental state of those families who have lost their close kin and relatives out of such brutal hartal? Is it further possible to investigate the nature of trauma and vulnerabilities of those who sustained severe burns and injuries due to such hartals? Is it also possible to get back proper compensation for loosing the last resort like a rickshaw, a van, a motor cycle, a bus, a truck, a cart, mini bus, a three wheeler, a car, or a covered van, a house, a shop or any sort of asset or property?  
Similarly is it possible to compensate a daily wage earner who have lost his/her four/five day’s income due to 84 hours or 96 hours hartal which not only compelled him/her to starve but forced other family members including infant to starve too? Hopefully all the concerned political parties will now be  able  to understand the suffering of common people and come back from the path of violence, killing and be positive to boost up the socio-economic and political condition of the country so that the millions of people are  able to subsist and survive in a peaceful way.
It is high time for the Jatiya Sangshad (parliament) to consider legislation to ban or regulate hartal, blockade and the like. The same is indeed imperative because the BNP led opposition is again threatening to launch another round of such economy debilitating programmes in support of their political designs no matter how such programmes would lead to the country’s ruination.

Md Amin Ibrahim
Pallabi, Mirpur,Dhaka

 

 

Letters to the editor

Effects of hartal, blockade and the like

Sir Most of the hartals or strikes in Bangladesh have a devastating impact not only on economy, production, import, export and business but also tremendous negative impact on the overwhelming majority, especially the vulnerable, destitute, poor, women, children, youth, adolescents and elder people as well as domestic and foreign investment. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2005 conducted a study on the impact of hartal on Bangladesh economy. According to it, in between 1947 and 1958 period, the average number of hartals per year including local hartals was 1.5 days. But over the years the average number of hartals have prolonged beyond imagination. For example, in year 1999-2000 at least 110 days of hartals were observed, Moreover, since year 2001 to 2013 hundreds of days have been observed as hartals days and most of these hartals were very brutal, destructive and devastating in nature. According to the UNDP estimate, hartal on an average , took away 4.5 per cent of GDP per annum during 1991-2000 period. No doubt this figure has exceeded more than 10 per cent per annum on the recent occasions of hartals. Hartal restricts free movement of people , properties are destroyed and economic activities are forcefully curbed. Even many valuables lives are subjected to appalling burns by either picketers or unruly mob. For example, like many innocent people and commuters, Monir, a student of class five became the victim of political violence during December, 2013. More than two hundred people died from burn injuries in the nearly three months long continuous hartal and blockade programme that was enforced by the opposition towards the end of 2013. More than 75 people sustained severe burn injuries in the last two weeks of December as some passenger vehicles including rickshaw, CNG operated three wheeler and covered vans and trucks were set on fire. Moreover, many passengers and drivers sustained severe injuries as some goods-laden truck skidded off the road and overturned due to picketers in many highways during this period. According to Computable General Equilibrium (GCE) model statistics, a day of hartal eats up approximately USD 1.0 billion of the countrys national gross domestic product. It is easy to calculate the micro level loss and damage incurred due to hartal. But is it possible for us to assess the loss of millions of bread winners sufferings, hardship and starvation out of such hartal game? Is it also possible to know the mental state of those families who have lost their close kin and relatives out of such brutal hartal? Is it further possible to investigate the nature of trauma and vulnerabilities of those who sustained severe burns and injuries due to such hartals? Is it also possible to get back proper compensation for loosing the last resort like a rickshaw, a van, a motor cycle, a bus, a truck, a cart, mini bus, a three wheeler, a car, or a covered van, a house, a shop or any sort of asset or property? Similarly is it possible to compensate a daily wage earner who have lost his/her four/five days income due to 84 hours or 96 hours hartal which not only compelled him/her to starve but forced other family members including infant to starve too? Hopefully all the concerned political parties will now be able to understand the suffering of common people and come back from the path of violence, killing and be positive to boost up the socio-economic and political condition of the country so that the millions of people are able to subsist and survive in a peaceful way. It is high time for the Jatiya Sangshad (parliament) to consider legislation to ban or regulate hartal, blockade and the like. The same is indeed imperative because the BNP led opposition is again threatening to launch another round of such economy debilitating programmes in support of their political designs no matter how such programmes would lead to the countrys ruination. Md Amin Ibrahim Pallabi, Mirpur,Dhaka