Transport workers of Bogra and eight districts of Rajshahi division have called a strike to meet their 10-point demand including the stoppage of illegal three-wheelers on the highway.
Due to the suspension of buses, minibuses, and microbuses, passengers who were planning to travel are now in distress.
The strike was announced through a press release signed by Aminul Islam, general secretary of Bogra District Bus, Minibus, and Coach Transport Owners Association on Wednesday evening.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, he said that since the administration did not fulfill their demands by November 30, the movement of buses and trucks in all districts of Rajshahi Division has been halted for an indefinite period from 6am on Thursday.
Locals too said, from Thursday morning, no bus plying the 34 routes of the district left the bus counters.
However, as cargo services were operational, many passengers opted to travel to their destination by trucks.
Some even travelled by auto-rickshaws by paying higher fares.
Dhaka TribunePreviously, Rajshahi Divisional Transport Owners' Association enforced the strike on Thursday morning, following a decision taken from a joint meeting at the office of Rajshahi Road Transport Group on Wednesday.
On November 26, the Divisional Transport Owners and Workers Solidarity Council gave an ultimatum to the authorities concerned to meet their 10-point demand by November 30.
They called the strike for various demands including scrapping the Road Transport Act 2018 and banning the movement of illegal three-wheelers and battery-run autorickshaws on highways by November 30.
A farmer named Farid Uddin said he had to travel to a village to harvest crops, but he could not manage any transportation to travel.
“CNG-run autorickshaws are demanding four times higher the price,” he added.
BNP is set to hold its Rajshahi divisional rally on December 3.
On September 27, the party announced a series of public rallies in 10 divisional and major cities. The party began the rallies by holding the first one in Chittagong on October 12.
Transport owners and workers called strikes ahead of all the rallies in various cities, except in Chittagong and Comilla.
BNP will end its divisional rallies through a mass gathering in Dhaka city on December 10.
