The business community will go to court next week, seeking a remedy from the ongoing political impasse that has severely affected day-to-day businesses activities.

“We are losing money, losing business,” said Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, a former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

BGMEA is leading the move to file a writ petition with the High Court, seeking security from arson attacks — to ensure a smooth transportation of goods vehicles.

The move comes after some trucks and covered vans have been vandalised or burnt in arson attacks.

The garment makers and textile millers are facing challenges in transporting goods between the factories and the port due to the political crisis.

Mohiuddin is a convener of one of the two committees that were formed after the hunger strike observed in Dhaka on February 14. The committee’s first meeting was held on Tuesday at the BGMEA office in Dhaka, where it was decided that the businessmen would go to court.

At the meeting, he said there is a misconception that the business community would go to court to stop political parties from calling blockades and strikes.

“That’s not true. We will go to court to stop violence and arson attacks on the goods laden vehicles as our exports and imports are being hampered.”

Every political party has the right to follow its agenda through blockades and strikes, and, at the same time, every citizen has the freedom to continue their businesses smoothly, Mohiuddin said. On businessmen’s initiatives to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, he said such options will be discussed at the committee’s next meeting.

Leaders from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the trucks and covered vans associations and trade bodies were also present at Tuesday’s meeting.

Abdus Salam Murshedy, another former BGMEA president, is the convener of the other committee, which has been assigned to mainly assess the businesses’ financial losses.

Murshedy said he will hold the first meeting of his committee today to discuss the losses by different sectors, particularly by the apparel sector.

“We plan to meet the finance minister soon to resolve some issues, like loan rescheduling of the garment sector and to demand policy support from the government as the sector has been affected by the political crisis,” Murshedy told The Daily Star by phone.

The garment makers have already submitted memoranda to Hasina and Khaleda on January 28, demanding security for their businesses.