Bangladesh going through a turmoil situation since last July, anti-quota movement reurged after reinstalling the quota system in first and second-class government jobs by high court. Within a few days, this movement circulated throughout the country, and contemporary prime minister Sheikh Hasina added fuel to the fire by her desputed speech during a press briefing. Students of Jahangirnagar University, Jagannath University, Rajshahi University, Chittagong University, and Comilla University went out of dormitories and condemned her speech. Police started firing on unarmed protesters and Abu Sayed, a student at Begum Rokeya University, was shot dead on 16 July 2024 after that movement turned into one one-point demand to step down Sheikh Hasina.
The government imposed curfew and employed army to negotiate the situation, schools, colleges and universities closed, internet cracked down and all offices and businesses shut down for uncertain days.
During that time, like other businesses, all motorcycle showrooms shut down and some of them were set on fire by miscreants. Showroom owners couldn’t conduct business as well as they were concerned about business. In those days, people couldn’t go out for work, affecting their lifestyle.
People of all walls appreciate students and they directly supported protesters, many students and protesters were killed, and student leaders were abducted by DB and severely tortured. Students called the “March to Dhaka” activity on 5 August, from early morning students and protesters started to come to Dhaka to join the event. In this situation, Sheikh Hasina couldn’t but leave the country after resigning. Many police were killed and hung after the toppling of Sheikh Hasina, as they were misconducted during Hasina regime.
In this unrest situation, Nobel Laurent Dr, Mohammed Yunus formed an interim government with the consent of students, teachers, and all protesters. After that, he is trying to normalize the overall situation.
Challenges for the motorcycle industry
Trade and business in country depends on political and social stability, ongoing protests, riots, and emergence severely affected seamless business in Bangladesh. Curfew, embargo, and vandalism disrupted social norms. Motorcycle industry is entirely foreign-dependent trade that raises much speculation.
Foreign policy: The motorcycle market of Bangladesh is based on Japanese and Indian brands. Motorcycles of Indian brands Bajaj, Hero, and TVS are imported from India. On the other hand, Japanese brands Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda motorcycles are also imported from Indian manufacturing plants as India is the largest motorcycle manufacturing hub. The toppled government had a commendable foreign policy with India to conduct easy trade with India. If the interim government takes any stick foreign policy with India then motorcycles would face difficulties.
Political uprising: Major political parties BNP, Jamat E Islam, and others that were suppressed during Hasina regime have become active and taking political activities in demand of election. Frequent political activities disrupt trade and business because people panic. If it extends then foreign investors and local importers won’t be encouraged to conduct business.
Disrupted Business: During the curfew, all sorts of businesses were shut down no exception for the motorcycle business. Though showrooms were closed, showroom owners had to pay house rent and remuneration to staff. Showrooms could not sell motorcycles to customers similarly local distributors could not sell to the dealers, B2B and B2C business systems were suspended. Consequently, several staff fired from their jobs, and there are more than a thousand showrooms scattered throughout Bangladesh. It is assumed that this situation leads to an unemployment problem.
Insecurity: The former government misconducted all police forces to mitigate the anti-government movement. When the government collapsed, police gave up the charge and hid themself for safety. In the absence of a police force, anarchy like loot and vandalism happening here are there. In this situation, showrooms remain shut down to get rid of looting. Home affairs advisor Brigadier General (retd.) M Sakhawat Hossain asked police and traffic police to resume patrolling by Thursday (15 August 2024) otherwise they will be suspended.
Scarcity of Money: In this turmoiled situation, banks and ATM booths were closed and still partly closed due to security issues. Money exchanges were disrupted due to internet crackdown, immigrants could not send money to Bangladesh via banks. On the other hand, corrupted politicians and bankers laundered bulk amounts of money, all factors create obstacles to the smooth liquidity of money.
Internet crackdown: Motorcycle market is so competitive in Bangladesh, that all brands try to be connected with customers. Promotion, camping, advertising, cashback offers, and other events are conducted via internet. As internet service was completely banned for long days, scheduled advertising couldn’t be published. It hampers the motorcycle market’s normal flow.
BRTA Rules: During the former government, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority(BRTA) was also corrupted, officials and brokers were weaved syndicate chain to demand bribery from customers. BRTA officials and staff also hid themselves, some of them were arrested and some were transferred. In this situation, this institute can’t operate properly and essential issues like registration, driving license renewal, and paying taxes become a lengthy process.
Unemployment: A motorcycle is a convenient personal vehicle, some ride motorcycles out of passion but some took motorcycle riding as a profession. Ride-sharing appsPathao, Uber, Obhai, InDrive, courier, and food delivery services based on motorcycles and the internet. In the absence of internet and road presence, numerous riders lost jobs which affected the motorcycle industry.
A newly formed interim government led by Dr. Mohammad Yunus tries to figure out where the problem lies. Already they have taken effective steps to waste away anarchy thoroughly. We’re hoping that situations will be normal earlier.
