Shawkat Aziz Russell, President of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), has warned that industrial activities are being strangled due to anti-industry measures and a severe gas shortage. The capital crunch has become so critical that factories may struggle to pay workers’ salaries and bonuses in the upcoming Eid.

He made these remarks at a joint press conference held Sunday at Gulshan Club in Dhaka, organized by leading business and industrial bodies including FBCCI, BTMA, BGMEA, BKMEA, BCI, ICCB, and BPMA.

Shawkat Aziz said, “Just as intellectuals were targeted and killed in 1971, in 2025 entrepreneurs are being suffocated. There is no gas, and factories are shutting down one after another. Yet, policymakers seem oblivious, like ostriches burying their heads in the sand. We see this as a conspiracy.”

Anwar Ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, President of the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI), added, “Due to the gas crisis, production has fallen below 60 percent. Bank loan interest rates have increased, and loans are being declared defaulted if interest is unpaid for three months. Meanwhile, the government pressures factories to pay salaries on time, which is unrealistic under these conditions.”