The country’s biggest wholesale hub of daily commodities, Khatungonj, was flooded with the tidal water yesterday because of cyclone Komen and the nonstop heavy shower.
Local businessmen and traders said they had never experienced such a sudden flooding in the area, and it would cost thousands of businessmen several crore taka losses.
Local sources said tidal and rain water flooded about 9,000 small, medium and large shops, organisations, banks, insurance companies and other trading offices at Khatungonj, Chaktai, Asadgonj, Korbanigonj and adjoining areas.
“The areas were flooded within a short time; the traders and shop owners did not get any time to save their goods and products from the water,” said one Mohmmad Noim Uddin, resident of Islam Colony at Asadgonj, adding that he had never witnessed such flooding in these areas.
Abdullah Al Noman, officer of a private bank in the area, told the Dhaka Tribune that there are no preventive measures in the entire area against tidal water.
“Tidal water often flooded the nearby low-lying areas but the flood seen today [yesterday] did not occur in last 30 years,” he said.
Another businessman Hanif Uddin, owner of three shops at Khatungonj and Chaktai areas, said the flood damaged his goods worth about Tk1 crore.
According to Khatungonj Trade and Industries Association General Secretary Sagir Ahmad, there are about 7,000 businesses in Khatungonj which bring in rice, wheat, edible oil, sugar, pulse, peas, onion, ginger, garlic and other daily necessary commodities from abroad and distribute them to different parts of the country. About 10,000 businessmen and traders are involved with the regular trading.
He said he did not experience such flood in those areas even in 1991, or at any other times before that. “Most of the shops were closed due to weekly holiday and the shop owners could not save their goods from the flood.”
The entire nation would be affected by this disaster as most of the demand for commodities in the country were met by the Khatungonj, Chaktai traders and importers, he added.
There are large commodity business hubs in other parts of the country like Moulavi Bazar, Dhaka, Khulna, Jessore, Bogra, Naogaon but those markets are mostly dependent on border trade with India, Nepal and Bhutan, said Jamal Hossain, former local ward councillor of Chittagong City Corporation.
“The importers of Khatungonj, Chaktai, Kobanigonj and adjoining areas import goods mainly from Canada, Australia, Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, Ukraine, China and India through different trading houses based in Singapore, Australia, USA and Canada,” he said adding that Khatungonj plays a vital role in the supply and pricing of commodities of our country.
Jamal, also the general secretary of Chaktai Shilpa and Bonik Samity, said about 350 rice wholesale shops and about 1,200 other shops and business organisations at Chaktai would count great loss due to the sudden flood.
He said the road networks of the areas were already in bad shape – they are now greatly damaged due to the non-stop heavy shower; so the salvaging of the undamaged goods are being delayed and hampered.
Both Sagir and Jamal said the businessmen of the area run their business through bank loans whose daily interest amounts to about Tk200 crore.
After such a disaster, the businessmen may not be able to pay their regular interests, which would also affect the banking sector, they opined.
