Plying of trucks, covered vans and lorries on national and regional highways will remain suspended for seven days starting three days before the Eid-ul-Fitr.
A release issued by the communication ministry on Tuesday said that the vehicles, carrying essentials, perishable products and fuels, would remain out of the purview of the suspension.
The Exporters Association of Bangladesh, meanwhile, demanded cancellation of the government decision.
The government should withdraw the decision for the sake of uninterrupted export and import, it said in a statement.
In the statement, the association president Abdus Salam Murshedy said that the decision might take heavy toll on the export of the readymade garments as a large number of exporters would fail to maintain the shipment time.
‘If the exporters fail to complete shipment in time, huge number of consignments will require to be sent through airfreight that would increase the cost by 10 times. In some cases, the buyers may cancel the consignments,’ the statement said.
If the exporters fail to complete shipment in due time, the businesses will not be able to pay the wages and dues of the workers before Eid which may result labour unrest, it added.
Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners Association treasurer Mohammad Kamal Hossain told New Age that the government usually implemented such ban in every year during Eid for keeping the national and regional highways free from traffic congestion.
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, there were a total of 96,348 registered trucks and 10,230 registered covered vans in the country till May.
-With New Age input
