Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain on Sunday said the government will take a hard line to end the ongoing strike at Chattogram Port.
“The ongoing strike at Chattogram Port cannot be allowed to continue,” the adviser told reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
An indefinite strike by Chattogram port workers resumed at 8am on Sunday in protest against the plan to lease the port’s New Mooring Container Terminal to a foreign company and to press four other demands.
Sakhawat Hossain said a handful of people are trying to hold the entire port hostage at a time when Ramadan is approaching.
“Chickpeas, lentils and edible oil are lying idle at the outer anchorage. They have taken 18 crore people hostage. This cannot be allowed to continue,” he added.
He said several people have already been arrested and the rest will also be brought to book.