Bus services on the Rajshahi–Dhaka, Chittagong, and Cox’s Bazar routes have been suspended indefinitely from Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, and Natore, as transport workers demand higher wages.
Since Monday morning, services of Desh Travels, National Travels, Grameen Travels, Hanif, and Hanif KTC have remained halted, causing inconvenience to passengers. Services of Ekota Paribahan were still operating.
Bus drivers and workers said owners currently pay Tk1,350 to a driver, Tk570 to a supervisor, and Tk530 to a helper for each Dhaka-bound trip from Chapainawabganj. They claimed their wages have not been raised for the past 15 years despite repeated meetings with bus owners.
As no solution emerged, workers began their strike at dawn on Monday by halting all vehicles running on the Chapainawabganj–Dhaka–Chittagong–Sylhet routes.
Transport worker Rashedul said: “When a bus runs between Rajshahi and Dhaka, owners pay Tk1,350 to the driver, Tk570 to the supervisor, and Tk520 to the helper. We have long been demanding higher wages without success. From Monday morning, we enforced the indefinite suspension of Dhaka-bound buses to press for an increase of Tk2,000 for drivers and Tk500 each for supervisors and helpers.”
Previously, buses on the Rajshahi–Dhaka route were suspended for a day over the same demand. After remaining off the roads for nearly 41 hours last Tuesday, services resumed but the demands were not met. Workers announced the current program on Friday.
Many counters in Natore have remained shut due to the suspension, leaving Dhaka-bound passengers stranded at the bus terminal. Passenger Shamim Ahmed said: “I am sitting at the bus stand with my younger brother, not knowing what to do,” while another passenger, Manik, said he was forced to return home as buses were not running. Both passengers considered the workers’ demand legitimate.
Bus counter authorities in Natore declined to comment.