Transportation sector suffers Tk650cr loss in 6 days

Transportation of goods suffered a total loss of Tk650 crore in six days due to the nationwide unrest and subsequent curfew over the job quota reform movement.

In a letter addressed to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Thursday, a leader of the Bangladesh Covered Van-Truck-Prime Mover Goods Transport Owners Association stated that the sector faced a daily loss of Tk108 crore as goods transportation remained almost shut down for six days from 19 to 24 July.

The letter mentioned that 9,544 cargo vans lost Tk4.77 crore per day at a rate of Tk5,000 each and 48,358 covered vans lost Tk16.92 crore per day at a rate of Tk3,500 each.

Additionally, 33,914 delivery vans incurred a loss of Tk8.47 crore per day at a rate of Tk2,500 each and 163,072 pickups suffered a loss of Tk32.61 crore per day at an average rate of Tk2,000 each.

Similarly, 152,131 truck owners lost Tk54.63 crore per day at an average rate of Tk3,000 each.

The total daily loss, taking all types of vehicles into consideration, amounted to Tk108.42 crore, resulting in a total loss of about Tk650.58 crore over 6 days.

Chowdhury Zafar Ahmed, general secretary of the Truck and Covered Van Owners Association, told TBS that transport owners had to continue paying salaries to their workers even when their vehicles were off the roads. Additionally, they had to bear other expenses such as those related to maintenance and parking.

"Goods transportation was completely halted nationwide from 19 to 24 July due to protests and subsequent curfew, resulting in a loss of approximately Tk650 crore," he said.

He added that while daytime curfew was eased from 25 July, allowing partial resumption of goods transportation, night curfew hindered full operations.

"Vehicles were operating with a great deal of risk in the unstable situation. If any damage occurred to the vehicles, no one would be held responsible, and the burden would fall solely on the owners," he further said.

Zafar urged the government to stand by the transport owners and workers during this difficult time, as they had always risked their lives to ensure the transportation of goods, including imports and exports, during critical times such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the association's President Makbul Ahmed said, "Many transport owners take out bank loans to purchase vehicles and operate their businesses. For them, the six-day loss was significant as they had to pay their instalments at the end of the month after meeting all expenses."

The association's leaders demanded that the government take steps to prevent the police from stopping vehicles on highways and harassing or filing cases against them. They also requested that law enforcement increase patrols to enhance security on roads and highways.