Repeated lockdowns in Bangladesh have pushed shops, particularly small and medium ones, to the verge of closure for good as their income crashed and debt mounted.

Small traders said they had to take loans to pay salaries to employees, clear rents, electricity and security bills, and meet other expenses as shops have been closed for most of the last four months because of the strict countrywide restriction.

The bleak situation, worsened by a lack of financial assistance from the authorities, forced the Bangladesh Shops Owners Association to place a four-point demand to the government yesterday, seeking permission to reopen from August 6 to survive.

It also called for a stimulus package for small businesses.

The association held a press conference in Dhaka’s New Market, demanding the lifting of the curb like the government has done for export-oriented industries.

“Small traders are in dire straits,” Helal Uddin, president of the association, told The Daily Star.

“Stores are closed. Their income has hit rock-bottom. Life has come to a standstill. If shops continue to remain closed day after day like this, we will go completely broke soon.”

The plight of the small businesses stemming from the economic fallout caused by the pandemic has been unaddressed mostly, although they are one of the driving forces behind the economy of Bangladesh.

There are about 56 lakh wholesale and retail establishments, accounting for 13.87 per cent of the total trade in goods, according to the Bangladesh Economic Review.

They employ two crore people, the association said.

Most of the shops did not receive support from the government, although they have been hit hard by the pandemic-induced economic slowdown and lockdowns.

Asaduzzaman Sumon, proprietor of Akhi Fashion Garden in Gausia Market in Dhaka, says shop-owners have to pay salaries to their staff. Besides, shop rent and electricity bills are growing.

“Now, it has become tough for us to survive. So far, we have not got any help from the government,” he said, urging the government to take initiatives so that the shop rent and the electricity bill are waived.

Sumon pays Tk 1,000 to each of his seven employees every week. He has borrowed about Tk 20 lakh since the beginning of the pandemic to keep his business alive.

Mahin Hossain, owner of fashion house Brightness at the Aziz Supermarket in Shahbagh, says the business has been in decline for a year.

“We are on the verge of permanent closure given the amount of loss we have been incurring since the start of the pandemic. The situation has reached a point where we can no longer borrow,” he said.

Hossain has supplied goods worth Tk 30 lakh on credit. So, if he closes the business, he will not get back the money.

“But I need Tk 15 lakh to run the shop.”

Sohel Rana, owner of MV Enterprise, a mobile accessories shop at the Bashundhara City Shopping Complex, questions: “How much of the impacts of the pandemic would we have to bear? Lockdowns are being imposed one after another.”

“There is no other solution to the problem other than allowing us to open shops. If we can reopen, there will be some sales.”

Selim Hossain, a clothing wholesaler in Islampur, says traders have not been able to recoup from the losses they incurred at the beginning of Covid-19.

“We sold clothes to many other small businesses on credit. But the money has not been repaid yet. There are no sales. How can I manage shop rent and other expenses?”

He owes Tk 30 lakh, which includes Tk 20 lakh in bank loans.

Ramjan Ali, a roadside hawker on Elephant Road, says his house rent has been unpaid for the last four months.

“I am going to borrow Tk 30,000, although I don’t know when I will be able to repay it.”

Abu Jafar, who works at a mobile phone repairing shop at Panthapath, says he has run out of savings.

“There is no work and no income. We’re going through a very bad time.”

His father has cancer and has to go through chemotherapy. The family sold a cow for Tk 60,000 a few days ago to allow Jafar’s father to receive the treatment.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, suggested the government roll out a support scheme for the marginalised and small businesses.

“In many other countries, governments are giving cash support to the sector. Closed shops, entrepreneurs and employees have received the assistance.”

“The same should be done in Bangladesh as shop owners are in trouble.”