The garment exporters today urged the roads and highways department to carry out repair works on the Langalbandh bridge in Sonargaon on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway during the upcoming Eid holidays.

The present schedule of completing the work in between July 12 to July 14 would hamper hassle-free shipment of goods from the Chattogram port, they said.

All Chattogram port bound goods laden cargo vans and trucks from Dhaka and its adjacent districts will require to travel around 100 kilometres extra on an alternative route if the repair works on the bridge start, BGMEA said in a statement.

It would also delay transportation of RMG cargoes and increase the risk of missing timely shipment, according to the statement.

In a meeting, the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association (BTCVOA) also demanded for an increased vigilance of law enforcement agencies on Dhaka-Chattagram highway to prevent theft of RMG export goods from the Chattogram port bound trucks and covered vans.

In the meeting held at the BGMEA office in Dhaka, they also urged the government for an increased vigilance of law enforcement agencies, including Highway Police, Rapid Action Battalion and District Police also on Mirpur-Dhowr road.

The BGMEA leaders requested the BTCVOA to ensure that GPS tracker is installed in all goods-laden cargo vans as a measure to stop stealing during transportation.

They called on the association leaders to fix the fare of trucks and covered vans and refrain from hiking transport fares arbitrarily.

They urged all garment factories to keep the photos of drivers, helpers and travel documents, including licences of trucks and covered vans, as a precautionary measure, the BGMEA statement also said.