Khulna Hardboard Mil starts

State-owned Khulna Hardboard Mill resumes its production today after more than month of closure. The mill incurred a loss of nearly Tk 74 lakh due to the shortage of running capital and raw materials, said Habibur Rahman, managing director. The mill authorities made a request for Tk 10 crore to Industries Minister Dilip Barua and State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Mannujan Sufian last month. In response, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) has provided Tk 2 crore in financial assistance to the mill, now burdened with bank loans and other liabilities of over Tk 1.20 crore. "If BCIC does not give the required fund, our production will be hampered again," Rahman said. The mill can produce around 26 ,000 square feet hardboard a day. It needs 8 ,000 litres of furnace oil of Tk 2.08 lakh to keep itself up and running. Abdul Hannan, president of the mill's Collective Bargaining Agents, said any move by BCIC to close or privatise the mill would be strongly resisted by workers. Earlier, the mill was shut down on December 15 in 2002 and came back into production on September 14 , 2005. Reasons behind the closure were the crisis of fund and labour unrest.