Although the India-Bangladesh land ports have been closed for several months, the sea ports are still operational, but the cost, time and suffering are increasing. This has led to a recession for the traders of Pabna. Small traders and laborers are changing their professions due to lack of capital and work.
Pabna is known as the oldest district of the country. And the hosiery industry is known as an ancient and traditional business of Pabna. This industry plays a very important role as the economic driving force of the district. This industry, which is about 200 years old, has now gradually become a traditional industry.
This traditional industry, on the one hand, is contributing to the creation of employment for locals, while on the other hand, it is also meeting local demand and exporting to other districts of the country and abroad, generating foreign demand.
The main component of this industry is garment waste or discarded cloth, which is used to make garments such as shirts, sweaters, socks, etc. And those manufactured garments are being exported across the country to various countries including India, Malaysia, Qatar. However, more than one-third of these manufactured garments are exported to various states of India.
It is known that the hosiery industry in Pabna was quite popular before independence. The hosiery made in this district is appreciated not only in the country but also abroad.
Local businessmen said,
The business was shut down due to floods, famine, and political turmoil in the country from 1972 to 1974 after independence. At that time, about 150,000 workers were involved in this profession.
Since then, Pabna was famous for its hosiery industry in Bangladesh and the Asian continent. However, around 1974, due to labor unrest, the business declined. This left many workers unemployed. When the factories closed, they later chose to earn a living by selling daub and nuts, or begging.
Later, when the garment sector was launched in the country, skilled workers of Pabna started making hosiery using the waste fabric of garment factories or discarded jhut cloth. Since the hosiery they made was of good quality, it soon spread across the country and abroad. In this way, this traditional hosiery industry of the district became fully revitalized again.
Businessmen said that currently there are about 3,000 factories in Pabna Sadar, including women entrepreneurs, small and big businessmen. Currently, about 80,000 workers, both men and women, are working in this profession. Although the hosiery industry has returned to prosperity as before, since the political situation changed, India has closed its land ports, and hosiery traders are facing difficulties with these manufactured garments.
On the spot, visiting various factories in Bangla Bazar and Dwip Char areas, including SA Hosiery, Katha Hosiery, Chanda Hosiery and Samia Garments in Sadhu Para Jhut Patti area of Pabna Sadar, it can be seen that the factories that were busy a few days ago are now silent. Most of the business establishments are locked after the lockdown. Garment workers are waiting for when the work will resume.
We spoke to Raju, the owner of Smarttech and Textiles in Sadhu Para Jhut Patti area, who said that a few days ago, his factory used to export clothes worth around 2 to 3 crore taka every month to India. Due to the sudden closure of the land port, it has now come down to 4 to 5 lakh taka.
S.B. Russel Hosiery in the same area
When talking to the factory owner, Russell, he said that while it used to take one to two days to send a consignment of goods, it now takes them one to one and a half months to send a consignment of goods through the Chittagong Seaport. This is causing them huge losses in terms of costs and suffering. Therefore, he sought the government's immediate intervention to resolve this problem.
When we spoke to Mamun, the owner of Mamun Enterprises in Jhut Patti area, he said that business has slowed down due to the closure of land routes to India. He said that they are facing many problems in sending shipments by sea. Buyers are also stopping communication with them as they are not able to send shipments on time. Due to this, they are very worried about their business.
When talking to Banglabazar's West Fabric traders Shafiful Islam, Sujan Ali, Md. Faruk Hossain, Md. Jibon, Sultan Mahmud Khokon and other traders, they said that there has been a slowdown in business for the past few months. Although there is sufficient stock of jhoot due to the decrease in work in the factories, it is not being sold. This has caused them to worry about jhoot being stuck in the godowns. They said that most of the shops in their area have been established with loans from various banks. Since there has been no sales for the past few months, many have lost their jobs and are now taking up other professions to survive. That is why most of the shops in the area have been locked, they said.
Cutting masters Hridoy Hossain, Nazmul Hasan, Khairul Islam, Nasir, Mirajul Islan, who work for two to three taka per garment based on a weekly contract, said that they used to work 10 hours from morning to evening, but now they have to work 5 hours a day due to the reduction in work in the factory. As a result, their weekly wages have been reduced by half, and they are living in a subhuman life with their families, they said.
While printing in the factory, I spoke to a female worker named Nihara Khatun. She said that a few days ago, 100 male workers used to work in their factory, but now there are 40. She said that instead of 15 female workers, there are now seven. Nihara Khatun said that she supports her family by printing in the hosiery factory without any other work. This female worker said that if work stops, she will have to go hungry.
Sardar Md. Selim Reza, president of Pabna Hosiery Manufacturers Group, said,
The closure of Bangladesh's land ports with India has created a crisis among our businessmen. Due to this, about 80,000 workers and 3,000 factories working in hosiery are under threat. He said that most of the markets in Bangla Bazaar involved in selling fake clothes have been closed for a long time. He said that due to the closure of this business for a long time, Pabna has become paralyzed. The president said that on the one hand, workers are becoming unemployed, on the other hand, traders doing hosiery business with small capital are losing their invoices and sitting on the streets. He further said that in addition, traders who are doing business by taking loans in monthly installments from government and private banks have not been able to pay the installments to the bank for two to three months. He said that we are personally going to all those banks and requesting them to extend the period. The president said that if the Pabna hosiery industry closes again, on the one hand, the government will lose remittances, and on the other hand, thousands of workers involved in it will become unemployed. This will stop the economic development of Pabna, he said.
In this regard, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Pabna Industrial City Officer Md. Mostafa Kamal said, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation works with all small, medium and cottage industries. One of these sectors is the hosiery industry. He said, we have recently received information. That is, the marketing aspect of the hosiery sector has closed its market in many places. And more money is being spent to buy their materials. And in this case, this sector is facing a threat. So if the traders contact BSCIC to lift it. Then we will help them on how to market place and how to learn various strategies. He said, in addition to this, BSCIC will provide loan assistance to them on easy terms and at low interest rates.
