Dead jute industry
Zebunnessa Laizu, Thailand
None will hear anymore the sound of spinning machines or looms or any other mechanical sound, shouts of workers, whistle of the siren at the opening and closing hours of the jute mills. It was long ago when people used to work in many jute mills along the riversides starting from Noapara to Khalishpur, a 30km long area near Khulna city. People worked there from dawn to dusk to get their daily meal, and support their families. Now they have nothing to do! All those government owned jute mills are closed forever. This process of shutting down started many years ago, mostly in the last decade. And finally our caretaker government has taken very good care of them! During the budget announcement last month there was not a single penny to revive these industries. The Finance Adviser said that it is not worth spending anything for these jute mills. Nobody thinks about those people whose lives depended on those jute mills; what they will do now, how can they survive with their starving children? No answer! The government is responsible with mismanagement and corruption for continuous loss in those jute mills for years, and we poor people are the sufferers. Let us raise our voice to save the golden jute industry and the workers. We can see the success of private jute mills, and we know why the government-owned ones failed. The CTG should address the issue.
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