Staff Reporter :
A sudden indefinite transport strike crippled the country on Tuesday, bringing immense suffering to passengers everywhere.
Without any prior notice Bangladesh Road Transport Workers’ Federation yesterday announced the countrywide indefinite strike following a court verdict that on Monday sentenced a truck driver to death over an accident in Savar, which had killed a woman.
Transport workers have called the countrywide strike to protest the court order. But the transport operators must obey the court verdict. It must be clear that transport workers or whoever might be, they have no right to kill people on the roads and highways and claim impunity.
The strike also affected businesses severely as several hundred freight trucks are now stuck at Jessore’s Benapole land port and other land ports in the country.
All modes of vehicles, including the long-distance ones, stayed off the roads and remained parked at all inter-district bus terminals in the city as well as district bus stands across the country due to the strike.
As a result, all road communications between the capital Dhaka and rest part of country remain cut off till filing of this report yesterday night.
Thousands of short and long routes passengers were waiting for hours on the streets, roads
and highways across the country as workers kept their public transports and motorised commercial vehicles off the streets.
Though yesterday was the first day of the strike nationwide, it started in 10 districts of Khulna on Sunday protesting the life term imprisonment of a bus driver in a case filed over a road
accident that killed five people, including noted filmmaker Tareque Masud and cinematographer Mishuk Munier.
Senior leaders of the federation took the decision at a meeting in the capital on Monday night as a court here sentenced driver Mir Hossain Miru to death in a case filed over a road crash that left a woman dead in Savar in 2003.
However, no effective initiative has been taken yet to settle down the issue or convince the transport workers to withdraw their strike.
In capital Dhaka, when the long-distance buses and coaches carrying passengers tried to depart from the inter-district Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Saidabad bus terminals towards country’s other districts, transport workers forced them to stop.
Passengers were asked to get down from buses at the terminals. When the passengers refused to get down, the transport workers dragged them out from the buses and coaches.
Transport workers stopped vehicle movement on the highways and even obstructed vehicles to ply.
Besides, all modes of vehicles, including the long-distance buses, coaches and minibuses were also barred from entering the gateways of the capital.
The city commuters, especially those who wanted to go office and return home, suffered a lot.
Tajul Islam of Bangladesh Truck Driver Workers’ Union said, if the verdicts against the two drivers are not withdrawn, they will also announce lay siege programme across the country.
“Apart from strike, we will also take to the street if our demands are not met,” he warned.
Tajul urged the Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan to take initiatives to hold talks with the Prime Minister.
“No vehicle will be plied except ambulance and transport belonging to the press. Shajahan Khan is our leader. It’s a matter of only two minutes to resolve the issue if he (Shajahan Khan) holds talks with the Prime Minister,” he added.
Khandaker Enayet Ullah, Secretary General of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, said they would continue the strike until the government takes any step to ensure ‘justice’ to their fellowmen.
“Workers were upset when a bus driver was given a life sentence over an accident,” he told journalists on Tuesday.
“We discussed on Monday and had almost resolved the issue, but later we learned that a Dhaka court awarded death penalty to a truck driver over an accident,” he said.
He added the aggrieved workers are now on an indefinite strike. Law Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday called upon the transport workers not to give pain to the people by enforcing hartal. “If you (transport workers) want to place your speech, go to the court. Don’t harass the people,” he told journalists at his secretariat office.
Apart from passengers’ sufferings, loading and unloading of goods at Benapole land port came to a halt due to the strike. The goods-carrying vehicles remained stuck at Benapole land ports.
A sudden indefinite transport strike crippled the country on Tuesday, bringing immense suffering to passengers everywhere.
Without any prior notice Bangladesh Road Transport Workers’ Federation yesterday announced the countrywide indefinite strike following a court verdict that on Monday sentenced a truck driver to death over an accident in Savar, which had killed a woman.
Transport workers have called the countrywide strike to protest the court order. But the transport operators must obey the court verdict. It must be clear that transport workers or whoever might be, they have no right to kill people on the roads and highways and claim impunity.
The strike also affected businesses severely as several hundred freight trucks are now stuck at Jessore’s Benapole land port and other land ports in the country.
All modes of vehicles, including the long-distance ones, stayed off the roads and remained parked at all inter-district bus terminals in the city as well as district bus stands across the country due to the strike.
As a result, all road communications between the capital Dhaka and rest part of country remain cut off till filing of this report yesterday night.
Thousands of short and long routes passengers were waiting for hours on the streets, roads
and highways across the country as workers kept their public transports and motorised commercial vehicles off the streets.
Though yesterday was the first day of the strike nationwide, it started in 10 districts of Khulna on Sunday protesting the life term imprisonment of a bus driver in a case filed over a road
accident that killed five people, including noted filmmaker Tareque Masud and cinematographer Mishuk Munier.
Senior leaders of the federation took the decision at a meeting in the capital on Monday night as a court here sentenced driver Mir Hossain Miru to death in a case filed over a road crash that left a woman dead in Savar in 2003.
However, no effective initiative has been taken yet to settle down the issue or convince the transport workers to withdraw their strike.
In capital Dhaka, when the long-distance buses and coaches carrying passengers tried to depart from the inter-district Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Saidabad bus terminals towards country’s other districts, transport workers forced them to stop.
Passengers were asked to get down from buses at the terminals. When the passengers refused to get down, the transport workers dragged them out from the buses and coaches.
Transport workers stopped vehicle movement on the highways and even obstructed vehicles to ply.
Besides, all modes of vehicles, including the long-distance buses, coaches and minibuses were also barred from entering the gateways of the capital.
The city commuters, especially those who wanted to go office and return home, suffered a lot.
Tajul Islam of Bangladesh Truck Driver Workers’ Union said, if the verdicts against the two drivers are not withdrawn, they will also announce lay siege programme across the country.
“Apart from strike, we will also take to the street if our demands are not met,” he warned.
Tajul urged the Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan to take initiatives to hold talks with the Prime Minister.
“No vehicle will be plied except ambulance and transport belonging to the press. Shajahan Khan is our leader. It’s a matter of only two minutes to resolve the issue if he (Shajahan Khan) holds talks with the Prime Minister,” he added.
Khandaker Enayet Ullah, Secretary General of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, said they would continue the strike until the government takes any step to ensure ‘justice’ to their fellowmen.
“Workers were upset when a bus driver was given a life sentence over an accident,” he told journalists on Tuesday.
“We discussed on Monday and had almost resolved the issue, but later we learned that a Dhaka court awarded death penalty to a truck driver over an accident,” he said.
He added the aggrieved workers are now on an indefinite strike. Law Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday called upon the transport workers not to give pain to the people by enforcing hartal. “If you (transport workers) want to place your speech, go to the court. Don’t harass the people,” he told journalists at his secretariat office.
Apart from passengers’ sufferings, loading and unloading of goods at Benapole land port came to a halt due to the strike. The goods-carrying vehicles remained stuck at Benapole land ports.
