IS panel advises reopening of 2 closed jute mills

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday suggested immediate reopening of two
of the five closed jute mills to save the ailing jute sector. The
parliamentary standing committee on the textile and jute ministry at
a meeting suggested that the Qaumi Jute Mills in Sirajganj and
Daulatpur Jute Mills in Khulna should be reopened for the good of the
jute industry and welfare of people working in the sector. Five of
the 27 state-owned jute mills run by the Bangladesh Jute Mills
Corporation have been closed for years and the Awami League
government earlier pledged to reopen all of them. The meeting,
presided over by the committee chairman, Akhteruzzaman Chowdhury, was
informed that the second unit of the closed Adamjee Jute Mills was
expected to be reopened by year-end. Adamjee was shut during the
previous Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government in 2002 because
of its accumulated losses. Referring to the closure of the Adamjee
Jute Mills, the committee chairman blamed the BNP- led alliance for
destroying the jute sector. It was observed jute industries flourished
in a neighbouring country when such industries in Bangladesh were
shut one after another, he said. 'It was a conspiracy against the
once glorious sector,' Akhteruzzaman said, adding the government has
decided to run all the mills in a meaningful way. The meeting also
discussed progress in jute procurement by the government. It was
also informed the government had allocated Tk 200 crore for jute
purchase, but the authorities gad already procured raw jute worth
about Tk 210 crore. The ministry has sought more funds for raw
jute procurement as the country has a bumper jute yield this year.