The strike called by hotel and restaurant owners in Kuakata on Wednesday against the frequent raids carried out by mobile courts was called off after about 12 hours.
Following discussion with the deputy commissioner, the Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association called off the strike at about 5pm on Wednesday, and the food shops reopened.
The matter was confirmed by the president of the organization Salim Munshi.
He said: “The District Administrator Mohammad Kamal Hossain has given us two months’ time and within this period, we will take necessary measures to improve the environment of all food hotels and restaurants in Kuakata and provide quality food. At this time, an executive magistrate will supervise the entire matter from the side of the administration.”
“As a result, we believe that tourists will not have any complaints about the quality of food and environment. We hope all our owners will follow the rules given by the district administration,” he added.
Earlier, hotel and restaurant owners in Kuakata on Wednesday embarked on an indefinite strike in protest against the frequent raids carried out by mobile courts.
Also Read: Kuakata hotel owners go on indefinite strike over raids
Md Selim Munshi, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, said: “Executive magistrates conduct raids almost every day in the area and fine us without any major reason, causing huge financial losses to us.”
“We are being harassed by the mobile courts and have no option but to shut our hotels,” he said.
On August 11, a restaurant named Al Madina was fined Tk25,000. Though the owner sought 15 days to fix the violation, he was again fined Tk30,000 on August 16.
When the restaurant owner could not pay the fine, he was detained for some time, Munshi alleged.
“If the local administration takes measures to resolve the problem, we will reopen our restaurants,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kuakata municipality mayor Anwar Hossain said: “We will talk to the authorities concerned over the issue.”
