The stone traders of Chhatak under the banner of ‘Bebsayee Sramik Oikko Parishad’ Sunday held a blockade in the waterways to stop the legitimate aggregates business of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh.
They threatened and forced LafargeHolcim to stop the loading operations and ferry services for several hours which severely affected its business operations and transportation of goods through roads as well. Furthermore this also caused suffering to thousands of local people of different unions including Noarai and Tengargaon.
During the blockade, the local stone traders demanded immediate closure of LafargeHolcim’s Aggregates business. They claimed that LafargeHolcim Aggregates business is illegal. However, no evidence was found in support of their claims in the records of the concerned authorities. Local stone traders have been agitating LafargeHolcim Aggregates business since its inception. In view of their agitation and complaints, the Ministry of Industries formed an inter-ministerial inquiry committee.The Ministry of Industries on March 27, 2022 approved LafargeHolcim to manufacture aggregates from crushed limestone and sell them in the open market after a full-fledged investigation. The matter was referred to the court as well. The Honourable High Court, after a full bench hearing, gave its verdict in favour of LafargeHolcim on January 5 this year. Later the matter went up to the Appellate Division of the Honourable Supreme Court and the Appellate Division disposed of the case taking into consideration the directives of the Ministry of Industries.
As all the permits and court rulings are in favour of the company, the local stone traders’ movement to stop this business is considered unethical by many locals. They feel that some of these local influencers are trying to unethically exert pressure on the company in the name of various movements to achieve their own vested interests.
To stop this unethical movement of vested interests and to carry out the operations of the company smoothly, a legal notice has been served to the ‘BebsayeeSramikOikkoParishad’ and a general diary has been lodged at the Chhatak police station by LHBL. The company has thanked the local police administration for taking necessary steps to ensure the safety of the company and its employees.
It can be mentioned here that the total demand of Aggregates in Bangladesh is about 70 million tons per annum. Almost all of it has to be met through imports from different countries. LafargeHolcim has production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum. The aggregates produced by the company is an import substitution and hence helping the Government in saving a huge amount of foreign exchange for the country.
When contacted, LafargeHolcim stated that the company respects the law of the land. It iscarrying out the Aggregates business with the approval from the pertinent authorities and in accordance with the Honourable Courts verdict.
Foreign investment and keeping the foreign exchange in check are very important for Bangladesh considering the current global economic scenario. Stopping a legitimate business through an unethical movement should not be allowed underany circumstances. Such movement will play a negative role in attracting foreign investment in the future.
