Staff Correspondent:
The Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association has warned of closure of all restaurants across the country if the existing problems in the restaurant sector, including the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) crisis, are not resolved quickly.
The leaders of the organization gave this warning at a press conference organized on Tuesday (January 13) on various demands, including the gas crisis.
The press conference said that after the Corona crisis and the subsequent political change in the country through the July Revolution, the people and businessmen had high expectations of the interim government. However, even after more than a year of taking office, a business-friendly environment has not been created; rather, the previous obstacles are becoming more pronounced.
The leaders of the organization said that due to the uncontrolled rise in prices in the market, daily necessities are going beyond the purchasing power of the common people. This is having a direct and serious impact on the restaurant sector. They claim that the country’s restaurant industry is currently going through an extremely critical period.
According to the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association, the main crises in the restaurant sector include –
severe fuel and LPG crisis, harassment of owners in the name of trade unions, inflation and unbridled increase in commodity prices, lack of one-stop service in business operations, violence in unregulated street food businesses, and lack of clear commitment from political parties to resolve the crisis in the restaurant sector.
The press conference also said that the government has not taken any significant effective steps to resolve the LPG crisis so far. This is making it practically impossible to run restaurants.
The association warned that if effective initiatives are not taken immediately to solve these problems, restaurant owners will be forced to take strict measures such as closing all restaurants across the country.
