Aid to Banga Bazar

Today, a catastrophic event has struck Bangabazar. Shops, containing piles of clothes and bundles of millions of Taka, have been reduced to ashes by an unrelenting inferno. Countless millionaire businessmen have been reduced to destitution in a single day. Only those who have experienced the horrors of this calamity can truly comprehend its magnitude. The question now looms: can this devastation be rectified?

My answer is yes. It may seem like a novel and ambitious idea, one that may not be immediately grasped. A man’s fortune of fifteen lakh Taka has been reduced to ashes, equivalent to fifteen lakh notes from the Bangladesh Bank (which are irretrievable). However, if the government can replace these burnt notes with the equivalent value of fifteen lakh taka, then the loss can be recovered, as the affected individual was the rightful owner of that wealth. This would be a groundbreaking decision in economics, a revolution in itself. Additional notes can be printed based on this decision; money that cannot be backed by gold or dollars. It may seem implausible, but it is indeed possible. As someone who is not an economist, I may not fully grasp the intricacies of this proposal.

It brings to mind the situation in 1971, when Pakistan laid waste to everything and plundered the country during the war. My friend Ishtiaq Ahmed Talukder, who worked at Sonali Bank at the time and is now an associate professor at Maulana Bhasani Science and Technology University, asked me how the war-torn country’s money was printed in those dire circumstances. I was astonished to learn how the first banknote was printed in such a ravaged nation. Kamal (Ishtiaq’s nickname) told me that Sheikh Mujib was remarkably shrewd and possessed extraordinary persuasive abilities. Bangabandhu made a historic decision for the economy of the war-torn country, ordering the creation of money based on trust. It meant that everyone had to trust that there was a fixed amount of money in the bank. The details of that incident have faded from my memory, as it was long ago, but we discussed this topic for hours.

So, it is feasible to print additional money based on trust, against the money that was burned by the businessmen in Bangabazar. In simpler terms, reprinting the burnt notes and providing them to the traders as replacement. This would prevent any adverse economic repercussions. Similar to people exchanging money at the bank.

Another crucial aspect to consider is the potential adverse effects on the economy if businessmen who were waiting to export garments worth crores of taka are given money in exchange for the burnt goods. In this case, the answer is yes, as the individuals or organizations who were awaiting the goods have already been or will be paid for their services. Therefore, if extra money is provided in exchange for the goods, it will result in additional money entering the country’s economy through the manufacturing company, contributing to inflation. Hence, if the price of the goods is increased during the process of re-preparing the same product, the loss can be mitigated. This could be done by attaching “Aid to Bangabazar” tags to the products for an additional charge.

Random donations or financial assistance for the struggling businessmen in Bangabazar may provide temporary relief for their survival. After expressing my thoughts at length, I suggest the following in bold: 1) The shops in Bangabazar can be compensated for their average loss by printing a fixed amount of notes or money. The decision-making authorities should discuss and make a decision on this, as it is a matter of national importance. 2) The affected traders (who were supposed to deliver the goods) can be helped by increasing the price of export garments by at least half a percent during the lean period. It is probably the decision of the trade association that is sufficient.

I know nothing will happen. vain thought However, I have been thinking about this since the afternoon.

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ড্রিমমেকার অনলাইন ম্যাগাজিন

Publisher at Dream Maker Creative Station

Dreamaker Online Magazine, an initiative of Dream Maker Creative Station, is a online publication that publishes literature, analysis and creative thought.

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