People suffer amid transport strike in Bangladesh

BySiam Sarower Jamil,
Dhaka, Oct 28>
A countrywide 48-hour transport strike that began on Sunday morning caused immense sufferings to passengers all over the country. Following the strike, almost no passenger buses, three wheelers, taxicabs and goods laden trucks, covered vans and pick up vans are seen to run on roads and highways in the capital and different districts. Earlier, Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation on Saturday announced a 48- hour countrywide work abstention from Sunday demanding changes to the newly enacted Road Transport Act, 2018. In the capital, many people were seen walking or travelling by rickshaw to reach their destinations – sometimes paying double or triple the cost of the usual fare. CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers and rickshaw pullers are charging excessive fares taking advantage of the situation, alleged commuters. Transport workers obstructed movement of different transports, including BRTC buses, all over the country. In the capital, no inter-district buses left Gabtoli, Mohakhali or Sayedabad terminals in the morning. No buses also entered in these terminals from other districts. Saidabad Bus Terminal Owners’ Association president Abul Kalam told Imphal Times that they had tried to run buses in the morning but failed. No long route buses started from Chattogram, Sylhet, Narayanganj, and Rajshahi on the day. The federation organising secretary Mokhlesur Rahman told Imphal Times that till 12:00pm they did not get any message from the authorities to discuss on their demands. Their demands include making all offences by road accident ‘bailable’, cancellation of the provision of fining Tk 5 lakh for involvement in a road accident, keeping a representative from their federation in any probe body formed for road accident, fixing minimum educational qualification for getting driving licence to class-V, and stopping police harassment on roads. Earlier on October 12, the workers’ association, decided to launch demonstration by going on a two-day work abstention from October 28 to press home their eight-point demands that included amendments to the Road Transport Act, if their demands are not met by October 27.