Several hundred lighter vessels laden with various goods loaded worth 1.15 million tonne lay idle at Chattogram port as water transport workers began an indefinite countrywide strike late Friday to press home their 11-point demand.
This also affected the unloading operations from mother vessels anchored at the outer anchorage of the port.
According to the Water Transport Cell (WTC) sources, several hundred vessels laden with different types of goods have remained stranded in different jetties of all over the country due to the strike.
WTC coordinates the movement of 1,200 individually-owned lighter ships in Chittagong and nearby areas.
Ataul Kabir Ranju, joint secretary of the Cell, said that the unloading operations halted due to the work abstention.
“Offloading from mother vessels has halted at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port. Besides, unloading at 16 private jetties of the Karnaphuli River has also been disrupted. Vessels laden with different types of goods like wheat, maize, fertilizer, coal and stone are lying idle at different jetties," said the WTC official.
Businesspeople fear that the cost of doing business may go up due to the disruption in the unloading of consumer goods and raw materials.
"The port will face container and vessel congestions and the economy will have to bear the brunt if the deadlock continues," said Mahbub Chowdhury, vice president of Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Nabi Alam, joint secretary of Bangladesh Water Transport Workers' Federation, said that they were compelled to go on a nationwide strike as their 11-point demand went unheeded.