Bangladesh’s readymade garments (RMG) exports, one of the country’s economic lifelines, are facing a setback as floods have cut off Chittagong, the country’s major port city, from the rest of the country.
RMG sector traders stated they are unable to transport RMG goods since vehicular traffic on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway has come to a halt owing to continuing flooding.
“We have learned from our transport sources that the Lemua Bridge in Feni has been damaged due to severe flooding in the last two days. It is disrupting all types of traffic on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway,” Abdullah Hil Rakib, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told the local media.
As a result, exporters are not able to transport RMG cargoes, he said.
“I urge the Bangladesh Army and others concerned to fix the damaged bridge as soon as possible so that vehicular movement on the highway resumes,” he added.
Chittagong has become completely isolated from the rest of the country as severe floods have submerged major transportation routes to the southeastern district since Thursday and still remain inundated.
The cut-off has brought all trains, long-distance buses, and goods-laden trucks and covered vans to a standstill. Vehicles that were already on the road before the Dhaka-Chattogram highway flooded are now stranded along the Mirsarai stretch, causing a massive 40-kilometre tailback.
The first disruption came Thursday morning when rail communication was halted due to flood waters overtaking the railway tracks on the Feni to Comilla stretch. By evening, road connectivity was also cut off as rising waters forced the suspension of traffic on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.
Khairul Alam, superintendent of police for the Cumilla Region Highway Police, confirmed the situation, and said, “Floodwaters are flowing over several sections of the highway from Lalpool in Feni to Chauddagram in Cumilla. As the flood water increased, traffic movement was suspended on Thursday evening.”
This transport failure is having a significant impact on Chattogram Port, a major economic hub for the nation. Omar Faruque, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), stated that a scarcity of trucks owing to the disconnection is impeding delivery operations.
However, he maintained that container handling from ships would remain undisturbed for the time being, but raised concern about potential container congestion if the scenario persisted, as cargo handling at the outer anchorage had already been disrupted by rough weather.
Private Inland Container Depots (ICDs), which handle 90 per cent of the country’s exports, are also experiencing hardship.
Ruhul Amin Sikdar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association, reported a significant drop in the arrival of vehicles carrying export goods to the 19 ICDs in Chittagong since Thursday evening.
Despite this, he confirmed that the shipment of export goods within Chattogram remains unaffected. The suspension of road and rail services is a major blow, as over 600 vehicles typically travel daily from Chattogram to various parts of the country. The main routes connecting Chattogram to other regions pass through flood-affected areas like Feni and Cumilla.
