Traders Urge to Defer 8pm Shop Closure Decision till Eid

Businesses have urged the government to postpone the decision on shutting down shops, shopping malls, markets and kitchen markets after 8:00 pm till Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest festivals for Muslims, reports media.

They came up with the call at the first meeting of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Standing Committee on Development of Local Garments held at the FBCCI Board Room in Dhaka on Saturday, according to a press release.

Businesses said that they have been deprived of the full-scale festival centric sale due to the two-year long Covid-19 pandemic and thus incurred huge losses.

Thanking the prime minister at the meeting, business leaders said that with the help of timely incentive packages during the pandemic, the traders are working relentlessly now to revive the economy.

Under the circumstances, they said, if the sales close after 8:00pm, the process of revival will be stumbled.

Echoing the demand of the traders, FBCCI Senior Vice-President Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu also called for postponing the government decision till Eid-ul-Azha.

“The office-goers usually prefer to visit shopping malls after evening. Therefore, the instruction will discourage them to shop, which would put millions of small and medium entrepreneurs into further loss,” he added.