Online Desk  :  Shipping and labour adviser Brigadier General (retd) Sakhawat Hossain announced that importers will face a fine three times the usual amount if they fail to pick up goods from ports within the designated timeframe.  He made this statement on Tuesday during a financial assistance distribution event for the families of six workers who were killed in an accident involving the MV Al-Bakhera cargo vessel in the Meghna River, Chandpur. The ceremony was held at the Ministry of Shipping’s meeting room at the Secretariat.

The Adviser noted a slight shortage of edible oil in the market but confirmed that the prices of vegetables have not increased. He also reassured that sufficient quantities of essential goods have been imported into the country. Emphasising that there are no significant supply chain shortages, he stated that any importer failing to pick up goods from the port within the specified time would be required to pay a fine three times the original amount. During the event, the Adviser presented checks for Tk two lakh from the Labour Welfare Foundation and Tk three lakh from the importing company, Noapara Group, to the families of the six workers who died in the December accident when the MV Al-Bakhera sank in the Meghna River near Haimechar, Chandpur.