Imran Hasan, general secretary of the association, said, “Many overzealous people are running campaigns without discussion. The restaurant is being closed. But there was a problem in the readymade garment sector also. Not all the factories were closed then. Rather, an initiative was taken to resolve the matter. Solutions were also found. Such initiative should be taken. We will cooperate.”
Imran Hasan told the media that there are 482,000 restaurants across the country where around 30 lakh people work. Already 40 restaurants have been closed in Dhaka, he said.
Addressing the press conference, Imran Hasan said that if you want to do restaurant business in Dhaka, you will have to take approval from many organizations. All restaurants have some type of certification. If one has few licenses there is no way to tell if the restaurant is doing business illegally.
It is not possible to run an unauthorized restaurant business sitting right under the nose of the administration, he remarked.
Imran further said that if someone violates the law and there is a specific complaint against someone then action should be taken. But closing large numbers of restaurants is not a solution. While this will affect businessmen, many people will become unemployed. Building owners will also be deprived of rent.