Jessore jute mill facing closure

The mill authorities can not pay salary and wages to employees and labourers for seven weeks, buy jute in the current peak harvest season and pay electric bills. Even spares can not be purchased for lack of funds, mill sources told this correspondent on Sunday.

The BJMC (Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation) mill near Noapara industrial town requires 30 tonnes (840 maunds) of raw jute to fulfill its daily production target. A total of two lakh 90 thousand maunds is required for fiscal 2004-05. But only 18,000 maunds were purchased till August 15 and only 1,060 maunds are in stock which can keep the mill running for only two to three days.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Traders did not supply jute this year as the mill authorities could not clear last year's arrears dues, amounting to Tk four crore 27 lakh 38,000.

The mill is also incurring Tk 13,000 loss pet ton on sale of products. The production cost is around Tk 50,000 but the sale price is Tk 37,000 only. Earlier, exports from the mill were shipped through Mongla port. The carrying cost was around Tk 1000 for five tonnes. It is now between Tk 12,000 and Tk 15,000 for shipment through Chittagong port.

The mill's CBA and three employees' unions are pressing hard for payment of dues to officials, employees and labourers.

But 1500 tonnes of exportable products including 431 bales of hessian worth Tk 60 for Iran, 664 bales of jute sacking valued at Tk 65 lakh for Syria, 3983 bales of sacking worth Tk 3 crore 50 lakh for Sudan and 925 bales of sacking worth Tk 70 lakh for Iraq is stockpiled at the mill.

Losses, couples with non-export of products have resulted in acute financial crisis.

Production is often hampered for want of spares, lubricants and other inputs, which can not be purchased for want of funds, they said.

The Power Development Board (PDB) may snap electricity connection any moment for non-payment of Tk 5 crore 72 lakh 45,000 bills for May and June, they said.

A large number of employees retrenched through 'golden handshake' have not been paid their dues amounting to Tk 5 crore 83 lakh 27,000 while pressure is mounting for payment of Tk 30 lakh as VAT, land development tax and municipal tax and another Tk 20 lakh as carrying cost, insurance premium and telephone bills, they said.

When contacted, the mills Finance Director Kamal Hossain said this is because of "discriminatory treatment to jute mills in Khulna zone". He declined to elaborate.