Life in Gaibandha became normal early this month after nearly two months of violence during BNP’s indefinite blockade and general strikes but locals are still scared of making bus journeys.
The Gaibandha-Palashbari road connects Gaibandha with several districts, including Dhaka, Comilla, Pabna, Chittagong, but this is the road where some of the vicious petrol bomb attacks left many injured as well as killed during the unrest.
On February 6, eight people were burned to death when a bus was firebombed at Tulshighat area. Vehicles were also vandalised in different areas on the road during the blockade and people still do not consider it safe.
Buses setting off from Gaibandha central bus terminal would get police escort but the service was discontinued from March 14. The Dhaka-bound buses do not run at night either.
Gaibandha Additional Police Super Mosharraf Hossain said escort for buses during the daytime is not provided anymore but the Gaibandha-Palashbari road is still regularly patrolled.
“Resumption of long-haul night trips is at the discretion of the bus owners but a few services have returned,” he said.
Hafizur Rahman, an official at the district bus terminal, said yesterday some 50 to 60 buses now carry passengers in the day.
“The number is just half compared to the past,” he said.
Liton Sheikh, a driver of Pabna-bound Mitali Paribahan, said trips on the road do not entail any trouble now but it is the passengers who are still reeling from the past violence.
Gaibandha District Motor Owners Association General Secretary Nazibul Islam said bus services would fully resume soon.
Mahmudul Haque Gani, a resident of Masterpara, said his wife needs to be treated in Rangpur but he is unable to remove the fear of a possible attack on the road from his mind.
“Even the trains are overcrowded,” he said.
Rustam Ali, president of Gaibandha District Truck Owners Association, said more than a hundred trucks now run both in the day and at night.
Gaibandha Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Abul Khayer Morsalin Parvez said even he himself is scared of going on a journey on Gaibandha-Palashbari road.
“There is still a sense of panic about the road among people but life is normal. People now go shopping but the losses traders had incurred in the last two months cannot be recouped,” he said.
“Trucks have returned on the road but transport costs have risen. Traders now have to spend more to hire trucks for transporting goods,” he added.
Debashish Roy, who runs a clothing store at Salimar supermarket, said he, like other traders, faced difficulties in bringing goods from Dhaka in the last two months but the situation has improved now.
