TDS Desk:

Nine factories owned by the Chattogram-based industrial conglomerate S Alam Group have been shut down indefinitely, effective from Wednesday.

Confirming the news, the group’s official M Hossain Rana told   that some factories had been operating sporadically.

“The closure is solely due to a shortage of raw materials. Workers have been receiving their salaries and will continue to do so even if the factories remain closed,” claimed Rana.

The nine factories are S Alam Refined Sugar Industry Limited, S Alam Power Plant Limited, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited-NOF, S Alam Power Generation Limited, Infinity CR Strips Industries Limited, S Alam Steels Limited, S Alam Bag Manufacturing Limited, and Chemon Ispat Limited.

The closure, however, has triggered discontent among workers, who staged a protest in the Moijjartek area of Karnaphuli upazila on Tuesday afternoon.

The notice stated that the factories were being closed due to “unavoidable circumstances” under the directive of the authorities and would remain shut from 25 December until further notice. The reopening date will be announced through subsequent notifications, it added.

Speaking to over the phone, Mohammad Yunus, a security inspector at S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited, noted that production at some of these factories had already been halted earlier.

“However, workers were still receiving their salaries,” he said.

“At least 12,000 workers and employees were employed in these six factories. Now, we are facing extreme uncertainty about our livelihoods,” Yunus added.

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government on 5 August, S Alam Group has frequently made headlines for various issues in the country.

The Bangladesh Bank has issued a series of directives to banks to freeze the accounts of the group’s owners and prohibit the transfer of their properties.

Since then, S Alam Group has reportedly been under significant pressure and has struggled to import raw materials for its factories due to stringent measures by the banks, leading to the factories’ closure, sources said.