Women entrepreneurs in Barisal formed a human chain and burnt copies of their trade licenses yesterday, protesting the ongoing political crisis and blockades.
They also expressed concerns that they would not be able to pay workers’ wages, payment of bank loan instalments and any kind of taxes, if such political unrest continued in the country.
The programme was organised by District Women Business Forum, Barisal unit in front of Ashwini Kumar Hall and was presided over by Dr Banolata Murshida, president of the organisation.
The speakers said it was not acceptable that political parties would do violence to meet their demands and mass people, including businessmen and professionals, would fall victim to such violence.
They had been forced to announce agitation programmes as their businesses were at the verge of collapse because of the current political crisis, the speakers claimed, adding that the government failed to ensure security of their business.
The participants of the programmes also claimed that their workers were starving and they had been incurring losses because of limited transactions and soaring interests against their loans as miscreants had burnt there business enterprises.
They urged the political parties to keep business sectors out of purview of political strikes, saying that frequent blockades, shutdowns, vandalism and arson attacks had almost broken the supply chain and flow of transaction.
If their businesses collapsed because of the political crisis, livelihood of thousands of people directly and indirectly involved in the sector would become vulnerable, they said, adding that the political parties would have to bear the responsibility.
They also warned to take to the streets along with their workers and employees if major political parties failed to reach a consensus within a short period.
