Miseries continue for the people willing leave or enter Dhaka city, as inter-district bus services in the capital remain suspended because of the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s non-stop countrywide blockade.
Amid the uncertainties of a sudden outbreak of violence on the roads, most bus owners are unwilling to take the risk of resuming operations. Those desperate to travel are now being forced to choose alternative routes through available train or launch services, or try to reach their destinations by making several stops and changing transports on the road.
Visiting the capital’s Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Sayedabad bus terminals in the morning, the Dhaka Tribune learned that with the exception of a few night coach services, all other inter-district services stayed shut off.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune at Sayedabad, Matin Mia – who had been trying to get out of the city for the past three days, said: “I need to go to Jhenaidah for some business purpose by tonight. As I cannot find any bus, now I must travel by making several stops in my journey.”
Like Matin, many were also seen queuing up at the terminals trying to find any available bus service.
The crisis, however, is likely to be alleviated by some extent by today, as some inter-district bus service officials said they would operate from Wednesday night despite the blockade.
“We are going to resume few of our bus services from Wednesday night, although there are possibilities of risk” said Sabuj, an MR Paribahan counterman at the Gabtoli bus terminal.
Asked why they were willing to the risk now, he said: “This is our owner’s decision. If they think they will take the risk then we have no other option but to sell tickets.”
Md Alamgir Hossain, who managed to secure an MR Paribahan ticket to Satkhira for yesterday night after three days of trying, said he was still concerned about whether he would have a safe journey.
“I am not even sure whether I can go or not. The counterman told me that the service could be closed if any critical situation arises. Besides, during the blockade it is an anxious matter to make a long trip,” he said.
Source said other bus services that also had plans to resume operations from yesterday night included AK Travels, Eagle Paribahan, Hanif Paribahan, Bikash Paribahan, Subarna Express and Suman Paribahan. They would operate buses from Dhaka to Barisal, Satkhira, Rajshahi, Comilla, Feni, Sherpur and other districts.
Khandakar Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, said: “We did not suggest the owners to resume the inter-district bus service. Whoever will resume, they will do so at their own risk. But the government should provide sufficient security if the non-stop blockade continues. Otherwise it will cause a tough situation for owners and also for the employees.”
Amjad Hossain Amju, a driver for the Hanif Paribahan, said: “Since the service was suspended from the night of January 5, we have had no available option to earn money. We earn around Tk500- Tk1200 per trip and now we are out of any income. So the situation has become dire for our families.”
However, with the inter-district buses staying out of the roads, more people have been heading to the Kamalapur Rail Station and Sadarghat launch terminal in search of tickets.
The capital’s streets, on the other hand, saw vehicle numbers returning to near-normalcy again as more private cars, local buses, rickshaws, autorickshaws and university bus services operated on major streets yesterday.
