AFTER a week-long quota demonstration, it is indeed a good news that business and industrial activities resumed on Wednesday, signaling a semblance of normalcy after a period of violent unrest, internet outages, and curfew.
The country witnessed quota reform demonstrations last week that led to violent clashes, halting garment factories, shops, and port activities.
These events exacerbated the country’s severe economic challenges, including high inflation, falling exports, and a dollar crisis.
Economists predict that the unrest’s impact will surpass that of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the economy losing approximately $1 billion daily during five days of turmoil.
Garment factories restarted production, and the pace of export shipments and deliveries increased with the restoration of broadband internet.
However, supply chain disruptions caused a scarcity of raw materials. Banks reopened to long queues of customers, and despite the pressure, managed to provide services.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange saw a steep decline of 1.76 per cent. Retail shops in Dhaka reopened, but customer turnout was low due to fears of violence.
The recent unrest caused significant economic damage, with predictions of rising consumer prices, halted investments, and job losses.
Export orders might shift to other countries, and many companies will struggle to pay employees. Annual inflation rose to 9.73 per cent in fiscal 2023-24, the highest in 12 years.
The unrest resulted in at least 154 deaths, further damaging the country’s image and foreign buyer confidence. The internet outage severely impacted the economy, and the full extent of the damage remains uncertain.
To recover from this economic setback, we urge the government to take immediate and sincere efforts to address the other demands of anti-quota activists through constructive dialogue which can prevent further unrest and restore confidence among businesses and investors.
Along with this enhancing the robustness of supply chains to mitigate the impact of disruptions is crucial.
Providing financial assistance and incentives to the most affected sectors, such as garment manufacturing, can help them recover and meet export deadlines, thus maintaining Bangladesh’s position in the global market.
It should be ensured that that internet services are robust and less susceptible to blackouts can help maintain economic activities, especially in times of crisis.
