THE truck owners and workers have gone for work abstention protesting the enforcement of the Road Transport Act-2018 resulting in immense sufferings to people and businessmen across the country. The transport workers in nine more districts joined the work stoppage yesterday that began in 10 districts on Monday, defying the government’s call for refraining from such programmes. Extending support to truckers’ strike, the workers of passenger buses also stopped plying their vehicles on different routes, including Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet. What’s true is that the transport workers apparently held people hostage; an old tactic they often use to create pressure on the government.
The owners and workers of trucks and covered vans had enforced the strike to press home their nine-point demand that includes making accident-related cases bailable, inclusion of representatives of transport owners and workers in the investigations of accident-related cases and no arrest of vehicle owners in such cases. They also demanded — all modified vehicles engaged in export-related work should be allowed to operate and drivers with licences for light vehicles be allowed to operate heavy vehicles. The transport workers asked for at least six-month time to update their documents and not to impose parking fine until enough terminals are built on highways and other places. The truckers, however, admitted that only 10 to 15 percent drivers of trucks and covered vans have licences to drive heavy vehicles. Most of the covered vans were modified (expanding body up to 22-24 feet from 20 feet illegally) in the name of carrying apparel items and containers. Similarly, majority of trucks carry goods almost double of its capacity damaging roads and posing risk of fatal accidents.
We must say the general people are under the captivity of the transport workers who don’t care anybody. Nobody can deny that — all the subsequent governments had used the transport workers for mere political interest and let them to become monster enough. The ruling government was also not an exception. Now the monsters are challenging the government.
