Salim Moshiur, Comilla (South)

The rural free market economy of the area, including the traditional commercial city of Laksam in the southern part of Cumilla, has come to a standstill due to various reasons.

Public life is at risk due to mismanagement and local mispolitics in some administrative sectors. Apart from the daily activities in the area, there is no gathering of people on the weekly market days. For the past two and a half years, due to the stagnation of business and commerce due to the pandemic corona infection, traders of all classes have fallen into financial crisis. Especially from the first Ramadan to today, the 5th Ramadan, the markets have not been very busy.

A source from local traders said that in Laksam, Barura, Lalmai, Nangalkot and Manoharganj upazilas in the southern part of the district, local mispolitics and foreign mispolitics have burdened ordinary traders in the area with continuous losses. It remains to be seen how much the ongoing reforms in the local administration, the modernization of the municipality and the implementation of various mega projects will contribute to the welfare of the silent and sleepless cries and cries of the traders of the area for the last 15 years.

In addition, although the severe blow of poverty at different times could not quell the traders of this region, they have had to deal with a more difficult situation mentally than poverty for the last 15 years, but the economic situation tells a different story. Traders of all classes are paying a high price today for undervaluing the philosophy of democracy, secularism and nationalism around the spirit of the Liberation War. Although the overall security situation in the area has improved, there is a serious risk of the rural economy slowing down due to the fear of apolitical politics in the future. Let business and commerce be sacrificed in the degradation of the social environment of the area. There is no alternative to maintaining the indispensability of a democratic society by emphasizing the social life of the people, business-friendly programs and the issue of getting what they want. Again, from behind the scenes, the voice of temporary basic democracy can be raised with the permission of state power or muscle power. But pure democratic practice is not possible for the welfare of ordinary traders.

The source further said that in the southern part of the district, various adversities including the economic pandemic Corona, floods and dirty politics, and hostile weather have given rise to various adversities among traders for the past 15 years, and even though the country has come forward in a new way after August 5, they are looking towards nature and political stability to turn around. Due to the small number of manufactured goods in the area and excessive dependence on foreign products, trade and commerce is currently sluggish.

Ordinary traders are facing serious losses in the sale of domestic and foreign goods, and often 70 percent of the goods are foreign, contrary to demand. Although there is a price difference in the trade of those goods, there are various disputes in the quality and expansion of trade and commerce. In the background of importing foreign goods, wholesalers are smuggling hundi-dollars or currency and evading government value added tax (VAT) and income tax in innovative ways in the field of illegal import-export.

Some domestic products in this region are struggling to survive at market prices due to the influence of foreign products. However, domestically produced products are competing with other domestic products in the international market by keeping a balance. Especially in this region, the market traders have had to count losses of several thousand crores of taka for the past 15 years. Due to economic and dirty politics, there is no progress in reform or development to change the fate of traders in this region.

Despite repeated attempts to reach several officials of the local administration and the business association on their mobile phones, it was not possible to get any comment from them.