Container traffic in Bangladesh is facing disruption following mass protests
Trucking to Chittagong and container yards has been disrupted since Wednesday (July 17) evening as students in Bangladesh imposed a nationwide blockade to demand the abolition of the quota system for "civil servants".
The quota system recently sparked nationwide protests in Bangladesh, resulting in at least 151 deaths. Bangladesh has extended a curfew in an effort to control the spread of violent demonstrations.
Local media reported that the Appeals Division of the Supreme Court rejected a lower court's order to reinstate the quota system, directing 93 percent of public offices to no longer set quotas based on the individual abilities of candidates.
The ruling cuts the number of reserved posts from 56 per cent to 7 per cent, with 5 per cent reserved for children of veterans of the liberation war against Pakistan, up from 30 per cent previously; Another 1 per cent is reserved for tribal communities and 1 per cent for persons with disabilities or those identified as a third gender under Bangladeshi law.
According to media reports, since the night of July 17, freight truck traffic to Chittagong and container yards has been suspended.
The protests escalated, the Bangladeshi government imposed a nationwide curfew on the evening of July 19, 2024, and shipping giant Maersk also issued a warning on July 20 that due to communication disruptions, which limited the communication capacity of Maersk's platform, and could lead to query failures during this period, Maersk is making contingency plans.
Arshad Jamal (Dipu), vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said: "The highway has been closed since Wednesday (17th) evening, so no freight vehicles can travel from the capital Dhaka to Chittagong, or from the port to the capital."
Nurul Qayyum Khan, president of the Bangladesh Inland Container Yards Association (BICDA), also revealed that due to safety concerns, no trucks have been allowed to enter the yards or ports from the factories since July 18.
"Import containers can't be shipped because drivers don't want to take risks." He added that the terminal normally handles about 4,000 TEU of import and export containers and empty containers a day, but now the containers are not moving. However, the loading and unloading of goods in the container yard is still normal, and the boxes can be shipped to the port as soon as the situation improves.
Earlier, Bangladesh's junior information technology minister said some mobile Internet services had been temporarily suspended, citing "various rumours" and an "unstable situation" on social media.
He said services would resume when the situation returned to normal. Internet providers earlier this week cut off access to Facebook, which protesters had used to organize.
Source: ALJAZEERA official website censored
The quota system recently sparked nationwide protests in Bangladesh, resulting in at least 151 deaths. Bangladesh has extended a curfew in an effort to control the spread of violent demonstrations.
Local media reported that the Appeals Division of the Supreme Court rejected a lower court's order to reinstate the quota system, directing 93 percent of public offices to no longer set quotas based on the individual abilities of candidates.
The ruling cuts the number of reserved posts from 56 per cent to 7 per cent, with 5 per cent reserved for children of veterans of the liberation war against Pakistan, up from 30 per cent previously; Another 1 per cent is reserved for tribal communities and 1 per cent for persons with disabilities or those identified as a third gender under Bangladeshi law.
According to media reports, since the night of July 17, freight truck traffic to Chittagong and container yards has been suspended.
The protests escalated, the Bangladeshi government imposed a nationwide curfew on the evening of July 19, 2024, and shipping giant Maersk also issued a warning on July 20 that due to communication disruptions, which limited the communication capacity of Maersk's platform, and could lead to query failures during this period, Maersk is making contingency plans.
Source: Maersk official website censored
Arshad Jamal (Dipu), vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said: "The highway has been closed since Wednesday (17th) evening, so no freight vehicles can travel from the capital Dhaka to Chittagong, or from the port to the capital."
Nurul Qayyum Khan, president of the Bangladesh Inland Container Yards Association (BICDA), also revealed that due to safety concerns, no trucks have been allowed to enter the yards or ports from the factories since July 18.
"Import containers can't be shipped because drivers don't want to take risks." He added that the terminal normally handles about 4,000 TEU of import and export containers and empty containers a day, but now the containers are not moving. However, the loading and unloading of goods in the container yard is still normal, and the boxes can be shipped to the port as soon as the situation improves.
Earlier, Bangladesh's junior information technology minister said some mobile Internet services had been temporarily suspended, citing "various rumours" and an "unstable situation" on social media.
He said services would resume when the situation returned to normal. Internet providers earlier this week cut off access to Facebook, which protesters had used to organize.
