Thousands of people living in southern districts particularly in Khulna and Barisal suffered yesterday from the lack of available transport. This is because of an indefinite transport strike enforced by the Khulna Bus-Minibus Owners’ Association which has now entered into a day second.
The association of the transport workers went on the indefinite transport strike on the Khulna-Mawa Road on Sunday protesting vandalism of a vehicle by the labourers of another transport owners’ association.
Road communications between Dhaka and the southern region of the country remained severed as a result of the transport strike yesterday.
No long-route bus or minibus ran on the road after the strike started in the morning.
But the vehicles plied on alternative roads, including Rajbari-Goalanda Road, said Sona Miah, joint secretary of Khulna Bus-minibus Owners’ Association.
Limon Hossain, a resident of Sarafpur village in Khulna, said, “It is unfortunate that plying of vehicles on the highway has been stopped over a trivial matter.”
He said if the transport strike would not be withdrawn immediately, commuters who are home-bound for eid would have to suffer the most.
Suvra Choudhury, a master’s student of Khulna University, said she wanted to go the capital for Eid shopping, but she could not go because of the ongoing transport strike.
She said transport workers always called strikes over trivial matter without considering the plight of commuters.
A clash ensued between the activists of Khulna Bus-Minibus Owners’ Association and Gopalganj Bus-minibus Owners Association after an altercation over a trivial matter on Sunday afternoon.
Later, Gopalganj Bus-Minibus Owners’ Association activists vandalised a bus on the way to Khulna from Barisal and beat up a bus worker indiscriminately.
Later, Khulna Bus-minibus Owners Association announced the indefinite strike from 8pm on Sunday protesting the attack.
Md Bulbul Islam, President of Gopalganj District Motor Union, told the Dhaka Tribune that they would not allow to run any vehicle of Khulna through the highway until people, who vandalised the vehicles are punished.
Md Anwar Hossain, general secretary of Khulna Bus-Minibus Owners’ Association, said they had stopped the plying of vehicles on the Khulna-Mawa Highway to save the life of workers as well as protect vehicles from vandalism.
“We will continue the strike until a mutual agreement between the two transport owners’ associations is held,” he said.