Don’t plunge country into violence, businesses tell politicians

Businesses have urged politicians to shun violence to ensure an investment-friendly atmosphere in Bangladesh in 2015.

The country witnessed less violence this year than it had in 2013 when the BNP and its allies hit the streets with strings of aggressive campaigns.

BNP’s ally Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing had unleashed a reign of terror as its leaders were convicted of war crimes.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI) on Wednesday made the call for peace as the BNP plans to start fresh agitations to press for a snap election.

“All we want is a business-friendly environment,” DCCI chief Hossain Khaled said.

Bangladesh’s political scenario is likely to get tense as the government has snubbed the BNP’s demand for an interim election.

Businesses fear more political violence would discourage foreign investors.

Khaled claimed Dhaka’s traffic snarls cost businesses Tk 270 billion a year.

“It’s wasting thousands of work hours and hurting the economy.

“Commercial hours lost due to traffic jams cost around 3.2 million business hours daily while the snarls also waste fuel worth Tk 118.95 billion a year,” the DCCI chief pointed out.