Blockade in poll dispute halts Bangladesh port

Dhaka, Jan 9: Some 56 foreign and local vessels are caught up in protests at Chittagong port ahead of elections in Bangladesh, unable to load or unload due to a three-day nationwide transport blockade, officials said today.

A multi-party political alliance led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League party, has enforced the blockade since Sunday in protest at what it says is the interim government's failure to ensure a free and fair vote on January. 22.

''We have suspended loading and unloading of cargo due to the scarcity of space for storage,'' said Farhad Hossain, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).

All cargo yards and storage areas have filled up as the transport blockade has prevented goods from leaving the port.

More than 21,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers have been stockpiled at the port yards and another 19,000 TEUs are waiting to be unloaded from ships.

''The situation will not improve if the blockade and other unrest continue along the highways and railway lines,'' a CPA traffic official said.

Chittagong port handles 80 per cent of the country's external trade, equivalent to some 22 million tonnes of cargo including some 830,000 TEUs. It handles some 2,000 ships annually.

Nearly 130 people have been injured in sporadic clashes between alliance activists and police around the country since Sunday.

If the political unrest spreads, overseas shippers may be forced to boycott Bangladesh ports, hitting external trade.

''Why will ships come here when each of them has to face additional operating costs of 10,000 dollars a day?'' Amirul Haque, a director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told sources.

Fazlul Haque, president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said: ''A nationwide transport blockade blocks countrywide business transactions worth 700 million dollars a day.'' Port operations have frequently been suspended since October, when a caretaker government took charge ahead of the national elections.

At least 45 people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes since Khaleda ended her five-year tenure as prime minister and handed power to the interim authority.

REUTERS

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