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Majority of Freedom Fighters Trust organisations wind up

Mahtabi Zaman
Out of the thirty-two organisations of the Bangladesh Freedom Fighters' Welfare TYust, only four commercial organisations are running, while the rest 28 are either under lease, or have winded up due to lack of capital support from the government.
Among the 32 organisations, seven are in Chittagong and the remaining25 in Dhaka.
While most of the organisations were established during the Pakistan period, 22 organisations were brought under the TYust authorities in 1972 and 10 more in 1976.
The 32 organisations never ran all at once. The highest net profit that TYust has earned, that is Tk 16.05 crore from 11 industries, was in the financial year 1999-2000. A major portion of Trust's income came from Tabani Beverage Ltd and the highest net profit of this industry came in the same fiscal year (FY), amounting to Tk 18 crore.
Tabani Beverage recorded its first net loss ofTk2.70 lakh in FY 2003-04. Net loss for FY 2004-05 stood at Tk 7.69 crore and since then TYust has only been running four industries. Those are Tabani Beverage, Mimi Chokolate Ltd and Purnima Filling Station in Dhaka and Eastern Chemical Industries in Chittagong.
In FY 2007-08, Trust recorded net loss of Tk 3.20 crore from its four running industries, even though three out of the four industries were profitable. Tabani Beverage has incurred net loss of Tk 4.38 crore, while the three other industries have recorded profit of Tk 1.19 crore, according to Trust records.
Out of the remaining 28 organisations, two organisations have gone for lease, namely Dinar and Almas Cinema Hall at Chittagong, and eight have winded up, namely Gulistan Film Corporation, Naj Cinema Hall, Anis Film Corporation, Durbar Publications and Advertising Ltd, Chu Chin Chow Chinese Restaurant, Jatrik Publications, Electronics and Films Equipment Ltd and Bux Rubber Industries.
The organisations that Trust have disposed off due to lack of capital support from the government are Sirco-Soap Chemical, Metal Package Ltd, Paroma Eastern Ltd, Bangladesh Glass Industries, Harda Glass Industry, Moon Cinema Hall, Model Engineering Works, Buxly Paints, Model Electrical Works, United Tobacco, Bengal National Tannery, Modina Tannery, Bengal Tannery, Hamidia Oil, Hamidia Metal, Omar Sons Pvt Ltd, Trust Modern Hospital and Multiple
Juice Concentrate Plant.
The Trust enlists a total of 7,838 wounded and martyred freedom fighters and it provided state honorarium allowance to the family members of the freedom fighters from the earnings of these organisations till 1979. Thereafter, the government started to provide the freedom fighters such honorarium ofTk 20 crore annually.
Trust annually spends around Tk 1.25 crore to provide other benefits to the freedom fighters and their family members from the earnings of the industries, although it has been recording losses since FY2003-04.
Wrong and impractical decisions of the policy makers are responsible for the devastation of the organisations, according to some senior officials who want not to be named.
Trust has lagged behind in adopting modernisation due to bureaucratic tangles, the officials said. Some factories were established in the Pakistan period by taking bank loans and those debts increased with interest. The administrators had the huge responsibility of repaying the bank loan, which was never reduced.
"Excessive manpower, bureaucratic tangles and corruption at high levels were responsible for the loss of these industries,” said a top-level official, seeking anonymity.