The Sylhet District Road Transport Owners-Workers Unity Council has begun an indefinite transport strike in Sylhet from Tuesday morning, pressing for six demands.
This strike was announced on behalf of the council at a press conference organized at the Sylhet Press Club on Monday evening.
The written statement at the press conference was read out by Moynul Islam, president of the Sylhet District Road Transport Bus-Minibus, Coach-Microbus Workers Union.
Among the six demands are:
Withdrawal of Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Sher Mahbub Murad.
Cancellation of the government notification issued under Section 36 of the Road Transport Act 2018, which sets the economic life of buses and minibusses at 20 years, trucks, pickups, and covered vans at 25 years, and CNG autos, three-wheelers, and Legunas at 15 years.
Withdrawal of the suspension order on all stone quarry leases in Sylhet and reopening of sand pits and stone quarries under the traditional system.
Cancellation of the contractor permits by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) for issuing vehicle fitness certificates and withdrawal of the increased taxes imposed on public transport.
Stopping the disconnection of electricity supply to all crusher mills in Sylhet, returning electricity meters, paying compensation for damaged mills, and compensating for stone and sand seized from vehicles.
Due to the strike, no long-distance buses departed from Sylhet, and inter-district buses remained missing from the central terminal.
Passengers were seen waiting at several points across the city, such as Zindabazar, Ambarkhana, Tilagarh, and Madina Market for vehicles, though a low number of city transports, including CNG-run auto-rickshaws, were running.
Many passengers, unable to find buses, flocked to the railway station. However, without tickets, they too had to leave disappointed. At a station, a passenger named Anwar Hossain shared that he needed to travel to Dhaka urgently. Since no buses were available, he came to purchase a train ticket but was unsuccessful.
The transport leaders alleged that the public transport, freight transport, and stone-related business owners and workers in Sylhet have been deprived and neglected in various ways since the time of the fascist government.
They said that due to the wrath of a powerful syndicate backed by the Awami League government, millions of people in Sylhet are facing indescribable suffering. In 2018, all stone quarries in Sylhet were shut down. Now, due to millions being unemployed, a famine-like situation prevails in the region.
They also said, on the other hand, billions of dollars are being spent from reserves to import stones from abroad. They mentioned that they have repeatedly been subjected to oppression by the fascist government for protesting and demanding the reopening of stone quarries. Even after August 5, they claimed not to have been freed from oppression, torture, and conspiracies.
At the press conference, the transport leaders further said that the notification issued under Section 36 of the Road Transport Act 2018 is a blueprint for the destruction of owners and workers. Similarly, giving vehicle fitness certification to private organizations is another form of harassment and conspiracy.
Besides, they alleged that in the name of vehicle checks, police are regularly harassing truck workers. For these reasons, the Sylhet District Road Transport Bus-Minibus, Coach-Microbus, Truck-Pickup-Covered Van, CNG, Three-wheeler-Leguna, and Stone-related Owners-Workers Unity Council had called for the transport strike (work stoppage) across Sylhet district from Tuesday at 6am, for an indefinite period, pressing for six demands.
They announced that they will continue this indefinite work stoppage program until these demands are met.
