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Tidal surge shuts commodity hubs in Ctg

Dwaipayan Barua, ctg
Traders at Khatunganj and Chaktai, two major wholesale hubs of commodities, have been counting losses for tidal surges in the last three days following Cyclone Komen and incessant rains last week.
Water flooded shops and warehouses at different wholesale markets in these areas and most shops remained closed on Friday as a huge quantity of goods have been damaged.
Several areas were inundated during high tide in the last two days, forcing them to shut businesses.
Traders are yet to calculate actual losses incurred but they estimate it to
reach Tk 50 crore.
Many traders at Chaktai, home to about 350 wholesale rice shops, 15 rice mills and their warehouses, used buckets to remove water.
Omar Azam, general secretary of Chaktai Rice Traders Association, said business did not regain momentum after the Eid holidays for incessant rains and water inundation now has completely stopped trade in the last three days.
Water flooded almost 50 percent of the rice shops and their adjoining godowns at Chaktai on Friday, he added.
Around 300 to 400 sacks of rice were damaged in each of the godowns in the last three days, said Azam, estimating
losses to be worth more than Tk 5 crore.
Of the 150 sacks of paddy stacked at B Baria Rice Mill, about 80 sacks were damaged during a tidal surge on Friday, said Hazi Farid Uddin Ahmad, its owner.
The 15 rice mill owners may incur losses worth around Tk 1 crore, said leaders of Chittagong Rice Mill Owners Association.
The high tides also damaged spices and commodities such as chickpeas, lentils, wheat and sugar in shops and warehouses at Khatunganj.
Traders at Ilias Market in Khatunganj said around 10 to 15 tonnes of spices were damaged at wholesale shops in the market in the last three days.
Jamal Hossain, a trader, said shop owners could not save their goods as the tidal surge was unusually strong and most shops were closed on Friday.
"We later shifted some of the goods, but we could not dry those in time as the tidal surges returned the next day."
Syed Sagir Ahmad, general secretary of Khatunganj Trade and Industries Association, said water has entered almost 70 percent of all the shops at Khatunganj and Chaktai and Vaders are still busy trying to salvage theirgoods.
There are over 7,000 big and small shops and warehouses in the area, he added.
The tidal surge is occurring as a result of the storm that crossed the coastal areas in Chittagong Thursday night.
Sagir blamed a lack of renovation and regular dredging of Chaktai canal as major reasons for such inundation in these areas.