WB & IMF Destroyed Jute Sector: Experts
...a move is underway to disclose the list of corrupt suspects responsible for ruination of the jute industry this month
The World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a planned way are destroying country's jute sector in a bid to make Bangladesh foreign aid dependent and create India's jute export in the global market. "WB does not want to see Bangladesh grow as an industrial country. On the other hand WB maintains a good relation with India; it is encouraging the country to set up more jute mills.(The Bangladesh Today)
But at the same time it is pressurising Bangladesh to close down the jute mills. But we are surprised very much when we see that Bangladesh government is playing its role as a silent spectator. But our climate is very much favourable for growing of the finest jute in the world," economists, jute experts and political leaders told journalists at a press briefing held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Sunday.
Under the banner of "Peoples Commission on Jute and Jute Industry" Economist Anu Mohammad, Justice Mohammad Golam Rabbani, Jute Expert Shah Alam and Communist Party of Bangladesh leader Shahidullah Chowdhury talked to the journalist about the latest condition of the jute sector.
They said at present, there are 22 jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation with over 43,000 workers and employees on its pay roll. Of them seven have already been closed down. Two are on the process of leasing out to the private sector, they said adding a few other jute mills are run by the private sector.
"At least 28 lakh ( 2.8 million )workers, employees and officials were directly and indirectly involved in the jute industries in 1982. But within 24 years, 27.5 lakh workers, employees and officials became jobless or retrenched following the closure of the jute mills," they added.
Expressing grave concern they said many jute industrial belts including Khulna, Sirajganj and Chittagong have turned into a bleak and desolate landscape with the workers, employees and officers of jute mills with their family members passing days without food, house and treatment due to nonpayment of salaries, leading to the deaths of nine workers from starvation.
It is learnt that in fiscal year 1972-73, Bangladesh had produced 0.45 million tonnes of jute products, but by 2005-06 fiscal production had declined to only 0.15 million tonnes. On the other hand Indian production had increased by nearly 60 per cent in the period to 1.6 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, the present caretaker government has decided in principle to cut the number of workers in public sector jute mills by 50 per cent to make the state-owned mills, now reeling under perennial losses, commercially viable.
It may be pointed out jute has once been the called golden fibre of Bangladesh and the farmers used to call it a cash crop. The previous government shut down the country's largest Adamjee Jute Mills due to mismanagement and corruption.
Meanwhile, a move is underway to disclose the list of corrupt suspects responsible for ruination of the jute industry this month. "We are continuing investigation at various levels to identify the corrupt suspects in jute sector and hope that the identity of many corrupt suspects would be disclosed this month", BJMC Chairman Ataharul Islam told The Bangladesh Today over phone on Sunday. Sources said inquiries are going on against store officers, Project Chief, Engineer, Accountants, Jute officers, Scale Man, Production Manager and Quality Controller under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC). There are massive allegations of misappropriating crores of Tk. against these officials who have pushed the jute sector on the verge of ruination, sources said.
Sources said the officials in the state-run jute mills have built magnificent houses at Gulshan and Banani. If enquiries are carried out fairly and are made public, corruption in the jute sector will come out, sources said. "We will at first recover the finance from the corrupt suspects and afterwards we will refer cases to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for taking legal action", the BJMC chairman said.
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