CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A three-day nationwide strike by opponents of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has stranded 61 ships, many of them carrying foodgrains, at Bangladesh’s main Chittagong port, officials said on Tuesday.
“A total of 61 ships have been stranded at the port with imported goods including foodgrains,” said Mohsin Sarkar, traffic director of the Chittagong Port Authority.
The strike, intended to force Hasina to quit, also shut the country’s stock markets and disrupted communications and businesses across the country.
Port officials said over 12,500 containers (TEUs) and 125,000 tonnes of cargo were piled up at the port yard and godowns.
They said 32 of the stranded ships were awaiting berth at the outer anchorage.
Officials said 12 ships, including seven in the outer anchorage, were carrying 180,000 tonnes of imported wheat.
“It will take at least 10 days to clear the congestion at the port,” port chairman Golam Rabbani said.
They said the port was already facing congestion caused by earlier opposition-led strikes on November 1 and October 21.
Port officials said they had to stop unloading cargo after the strike halted deliveries of goods.
They said the suspension of deliveries deprived the port and customs of about $5.3 million a day in revenues.
