Hartal is a curse - full stop.

Right now, if we do a survey on what the most annoying and dreadful word for the common people of Bangladesh is, the majority will probably say “hartal”. This democratic right of extreme demonstration has become such a common occurrence in our country that common people have become afraid of it.

It is not just a curse for our economy; it hampers the country in almost every aspect. The situation has become such worse that whenever an opposing political party calls a press conference or a rally, the mass people of the country prays that they are not going to declare a hartal!

Let us look at the economic damage hartal causes… declaring a 12 hour hartal basically means no four (or in some cases even three) wheeled vehicles will move and all commercial and industrial centers will be closed down. Even though it is supposed to be an option, those who keep their offices or stores open usually face massive vandalizing by hartal enforcers. So the owners of these establishments usually keep their businesses off during the hartal days. Therefore the country suffers massive economic losses. A survey by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry reveals that a daylong hartal causes the nation 1,600 crore BDT. It also says that the GDP of Bangladesh is hampered 6.5% because of each nationwide hartal. Without such daylong shutdowns, the GDP growth of Bangladesh could have been 9-10%.

The nation fears a number of casualties every time a hartal is declared. Many protestors, police or even common pedestrians often die during the clashes that occur in a hartal day. The exact amount of casualties during hartal days in the last decade is unknown; but the number is quite high. Apart from this, countless people are injured and numerous vehicles are torched during hartal days.

This so called democratic right has been so abused in our country that it has lost its proper meaning. Declaring a hartal in Bangladesh has become somewhat of an open pass to cause terror all around the country. From school going toddlers to corporate kingpins, everyone’s lives are hampered because of this socio-economic poison. Foreign investors are retreating from our industries and the overall productivity of the nation is dropping down alarmingly.

If Bangladesh wants to emerge as a developed nation, this curse known as ‘hartal’ needs to be removed as soon as possible.

-This piece was submitted by Kazi Nayem, a concerned Bangladeshi.