An indefinite strike called by transport workers of 10 district of Khulna division protesting punishment to the killer driver partially affected normal life in the southwestern region on Sunday.
Long-distance buses, coaches, min-buses and pick-up vans remained parked at Sonadanga bus terminal since 6:00am yesterday.
As tanks, which came to Khalishpur for collecting oil from depots, are also on strike, it is apprehended that a fuel crisis might hit the southern region within a day or two.
The 10 districts include Bagerhat, Chuadanga, Jessore, Jhenaidah, Khulna, Kushtia, Magura, Meherpur, Narail and Satkhira.
Earlier on Saturday, Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation announced the strike at an emergency meeting at its regional committee’s office in Jessore 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.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers, who use the northern, eastern, southeastern network that includes Capital Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet and other places of the country, are facing the worst situation.
Vehicular movement across the districts came to a halt as the workers took position at several key points in different areas, including the Khulna and Jessore in the morning, disrupting the movement of people and hitting the business hard.
No long-route buses or trucks left the city yesterday. Thousands of passengers were found stranded at different bus stoppages of the districts.
“We are demanding more investigation into the case. As our fellow driver has been given life term imprisonment, we have enforced the indefinite strike. If our demands are not met, we will announce countrywide indefinite strike immediately,” transport leader Abur Rahim Box told journalists.
Meanwhile, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday termed strike as illogical, urging the transport workers to withdraw it immediately.
“By enforcing strike, the transport workers will not get any benefit rather they are intensifying people’s sufferings. It is very unfortunate,” he told journalists while inspecting BRTA’s drive against unfit vehicles in the city yesterday.
He said as the transport workers defying court verdict are observing strike such strike cannot be tolerated.
People who came here from India through Benapole land port also got stuck as no bus had left the land port.
Loading and unloading of goods at Benapole land port came to a halt due to the strike.
It is to be noted that a court in Manikganj on Wednesday sentenced bus driver Jamir Hossain, 48, of Daulatdiar village of Chuadanga district, to life term imprisonment in a case filed over the death Tareque and Munier.
The court also fined the driver Tk 5,000 and he will have to suffer three months more imprisonment in default to pay the fine.
He was also awarded two years more imprisonment and fined Tk 2000, in default, to serve one month more imprisonment, for using his expired driving license during the incident.
Tareque Masud, Mishuk Munier and three others were killed as a microbus, carrying them, collided with a bus, driven by the convict Jamir, on Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Ghior.
