Businesspeople are scrambling to meet their sales targets as countrywide blockades have meant that they could enjoy only three days of normal business per week over the past month.

As blockades have been called for around four days of each week in recent times, some businesspeople have had to sell their products at lower prices than usual in order to pay wages to employees alongside rent for their shops and utility bills.

Mohammad Sohag, manager of Xavia By BigBazar Shop at Noorjahan Super Market, on the opposite side of Dhaka College, bemoaned the overall situation of business.

The sales situation has worsened due to four days of blockades each week, he said.

Sohag said 30-35 customers came daily during blockades while over 50 customers would arrive on days when there was no blockade.

"Even then, the number of sales across two days does not cover the number of sales of those four days," he lamented.

Since there are less sales on days when there is a blockade, Sohag has to sell products at lower profits on days when there is no blockade even if the profit is a little less. He has no other choice since he has to pay shop rent, salaries and other incidental expenses at the end of the month.

Sohag's shop, which sells jackets, t-shirts, polo-shirts, joggers and sweaters to men and women, witnessed a 10 percent decline in sales in November compared to October.

He said products worth around Tk 15,000-20,000 were sold on average during a blockade. That number can reach upwards of Tk 35,000 on days when there is no blockade.

Around this time in 2019, goods worth Tk 35,000-40,000 were sold every day, he claimed.

Sohag said there were five salesmen in the shop in October and two more were hired in early November.

"Earlier, customers used to come to the shop, buy products and leave. But now things have changed. So, these two [salesmen] have been appointed to keep them engaged so that the buyers do not go back empty handed," he said.

In such a situation, the focus is on selling as many products as possible on days without a blockade, Sohag added.

The BNP has called a fresh 48-hour countrywide blockade starting at 6:00am on Sunday. This will be the ninth spell of blockades since October 28. Hartals have also been added to its political programmes after the announcement of the polls schedule.

According to the Fire Service and Civil Defence, a total of 236 vehicles have been torched, including five yesterday, as unrest griped the country since October 28.

Mohammad Asaduzzaman Apu, a three-piece seller at Chandni Chowk Market in the capital, said that goods worth Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000 were sold daily during blockades. On days without the blockade, goods worth Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000 are sold daily.

Even then, the normal three-day sales volume does not cover the sales lost across the other days when there are blockades, he added.

Apu also said a panic has been created among people given the current situation, so they come to the market less.

"Those who are coming are also shopping less," he added.

There are five salesmen in the shop but Apu is now having a tough time bearing their salaries, shop rent and ancillary expenses.

MA Selim Bhuiyan, a shoe seller at Farm View Supermarket in Farmgate, said sales halve during the blockades compared to normal days.

He added that the number of sales on the rest of the days cannot be used to make up the sales lost due to blockades.

"Due to the loss of income, I had to take a loan from relatives to pay a part of employee salaries in November," 41-year-old Bhuiyan said despairingly.

"We haven't overcome the Covid-19 crisis yet. Then there is the political crisis. It is very sad to think about how to survive in business," he added.

Helal Uddin, president of the Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, the national platform of retailers, said business conditions were worsening day by day due to blockades.

Traders were regularly facing new crises due to declining sales.

"For the last six-seven months, I have been trying to highlight the current crisis to the higher level of the government. But I can't find any scope because they're not making any appointments," he said.