A circular to this effect was issued by the central bank on Thursday amid the nationwide daylong shutdown called by the BNP-led 18-Party Alliance – the fourth in five days.
The order follows the demand from the businesses, Bangladesh Garment Manufactures & Exporters Association (BGMEA) in particular, that the banks operate on weekends and government holidays to help the industries make up for the lost time and business.
The central bank also suggested other financial institutions to operate on the day like banks.
It said the decision to keep the branches of commercial banks located at industrial areas – Dhaka, Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Chittagong – open on Mar 9 was made to provide the readymade garment workers with the wages and allowances in time.
“Under the circumstances, all banks branches located at those areas are being requested to ensure necessary security measures and take all necessary steps to operate [on Saturday].”
The circular also mentioned that all authorised dealer branches of the banks at the airports in Dhaka and Chittagong, seaports in Chittagong and Mongla, land ports in Benapole, Sona Mosjid and Hili, and at the capital’s Kamalapur’s ICD area will remain open on Fridays and Saturdays until further notice.
Earlier, apex business body, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), had urged the government to keep all financial and service institutions operational on weekends and government holidays to claw back losses suffered because of repeated strikes.
In a statement on Thursday, the FBCCI said economic activities of the country had come to an abrupt halt due to lockdowns over the past few weeks.
The industry lobby urged all banks, including the Bangladesh Bank, insurance companies, stock exchanges, sea and land ports, shipping and customs department and other relevant service institutions to operate on weekends and government holidays.
The FBCCI, along with other business bodies, has also been demanding that shutdowns be legally banned.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, the key ally of main opposition BNP, had enforced nationwide shutdowns last month protesting the verdicts given by the International Crimes Tribunal against its leaders after convicting them of war crimes in 1971.
Activists of Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir rampaged through the country on Feb 28 after the tribunal awarded death sentence to Jamaat number two Delwar Hossain Sayedee.
Jamaat also called a 48-hour shutdown for Sunday and Monday rejecting the verdict, followed by another daylong strike by the BNP on Tuesday protesting the violence and deaths from police firing in the Jamaat-sponsored strikes. The BNP called it ‘genocide committed by the government’.
The main opposition again declared a shutdown for Thursday after their protest rally in front of the party’s headquarters on Wednesday broke up following clashes between its supporters and police.
The businesses have been protesting and calling for a ban on shutdowns considering the economic and financial interests.