S.A Shofiee, Sylhet :
The prevailing chaotic situation in the country’s political arena has pushed the transport sector in Sylhet into a complete disarray. The political unrest has brought 25,000 workers of the sector to their knees throwing them mostly out of jobs. The BNP-led 20-party alliance enforced a non-stop nationwide blockade programme on January 6, the day after the first anniversary of the January 5 polls, protesting BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s confinement to her Gulshan office and locking of the party office by police for the last Saturday midnight. Virtually denied any work during such political programmes, most of the transport workers, including drivers, conductors and helpers of buses, trucks and pickup vans, are passing days with their families amid extreme economic hardship. Dependent on daily basis wages like day labourers, they have to bear the brunt of the opposition’s hartal and blockade programmes.
Many workers, while talking to Correspondent, said their sufferings know no bounds as they have plunged into deep financial crisis for the action programmes of the opposition.
Most of the vehicles which run on fare have remained idle for a good number of days for non-stop agitation programmes, keeping their staff out of job.
With no earning, they are facing difficulties in running their families. Only a handful of workers receive a scanty amount of money from the transport owners to manage food at the time of the crisis while thousand others have to remain half-fed or unfed having no such favour.
Anwar Miah, 27, helper of a passenger bus, said at Sylhet Kodamtoly central bus terminal on Thursday. ‘After taking some muri (puffed rice) early in the morning. I came out of the house. Now I have no money in the pocket to take lunch,’
Like him, many more transport workers at the bus terminal had the same tale to tell about hunger and frustration.
Bus conductor Helal Ahmed Kodamtoly area in the city said, ‘I borrowed Tk10,000 from a local micro-credit organisation to feed my family. As per condition, I have to start repaying the installments after one week, but I will be able to do so only when my bus resumes plying the streets.’
Facing financial hardship during the blockade, truck driver Faruk Miah of Subhanighat area in the city had to take loan from others to maintain his five-member family.
General Secretary of Sylhet Motor Workers’ Union Selim Ahmed Folik said transport workers become direct victims of political programmes like blockade and hartal, suffering financially and sometimes even getting injured or losing lives, but nobody thinks about them.
Sylhet Truck and Covered Van Owners Association president Abdul Gaffar Biswas said blockade and hartal supporters have vandalised and set fire to a large number of vehicles, including trucks, buses, pickups and covered vans across the country since January 6.
Staff of busses and trucks is becoming victims of arson attacks on their vehicles during the opposition’s blockade programme,’ he added.
Felu Miah, a truck owner, said, ‘Most of the vehicles are bought on bank loans. We won’t be able to pay installments as presently we have no income due to hartal and blockade. We depend on the income from our vehicles to maintain our family.’
Masuk Miah General Secretary of Sylhet Divisional Truck Workers’ Union said, ‘The country’s transport sector has already incurred huge losses due to the opposition’s frequent countrywide hartals and blockades.’
He also said workers are becoming agitated over frequent hartals and blockades, eating up their income. If the situation goes like this, the workers will be compelled at some time to besiege those responsible for the blockades, he added.
The prevailing chaotic situation in the country’s political arena has pushed the transport sector in Sylhet into a complete disarray. The political unrest has brought 25,000 workers of the sector to their knees throwing them mostly out of jobs. The BNP-led 20-party alliance enforced a non-stop nationwide blockade programme on January 6, the day after the first anniversary of the January 5 polls, protesting BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s confinement to her Gulshan office and locking of the party office by police for the last Saturday midnight. Virtually denied any work during such political programmes, most of the transport workers, including drivers, conductors and helpers of buses, trucks and pickup vans, are passing days with their families amid extreme economic hardship. Dependent on daily basis wages like day labourers, they have to bear the brunt of the opposition’s hartal and blockade programmes.
Many workers, while talking to Correspondent, said their sufferings know no bounds as they have plunged into deep financial crisis for the action programmes of the opposition.
Most of the vehicles which run on fare have remained idle for a good number of days for non-stop agitation programmes, keeping their staff out of job.
With no earning, they are facing difficulties in running their families. Only a handful of workers receive a scanty amount of money from the transport owners to manage food at the time of the crisis while thousand others have to remain half-fed or unfed having no such favour.
Anwar Miah, 27, helper of a passenger bus, said at Sylhet Kodamtoly central bus terminal on Thursday. ‘After taking some muri (puffed rice) early in the morning. I came out of the house. Now I have no money in the pocket to take lunch,’
Like him, many more transport workers at the bus terminal had the same tale to tell about hunger and frustration.
Bus conductor Helal Ahmed Kodamtoly area in the city said, ‘I borrowed Tk10,000 from a local micro-credit organisation to feed my family. As per condition, I have to start repaying the installments after one week, but I will be able to do so only when my bus resumes plying the streets.’
Facing financial hardship during the blockade, truck driver Faruk Miah of Subhanighat area in the city had to take loan from others to maintain his five-member family.
General Secretary of Sylhet Motor Workers’ Union Selim Ahmed Folik said transport workers become direct victims of political programmes like blockade and hartal, suffering financially and sometimes even getting injured or losing lives, but nobody thinks about them.
Sylhet Truck and Covered Van Owners Association president Abdul Gaffar Biswas said blockade and hartal supporters have vandalised and set fire to a large number of vehicles, including trucks, buses, pickups and covered vans across the country since January 6.
Staff of busses and trucks is becoming victims of arson attacks on their vehicles during the opposition’s blockade programme,’ he added.
Felu Miah, a truck owner, said, ‘Most of the vehicles are bought on bank loans. We won’t be able to pay installments as presently we have no income due to hartal and blockade. We depend on the income from our vehicles to maintain our family.’
Masuk Miah General Secretary of Sylhet Divisional Truck Workers’ Union said, ‘The country’s transport sector has already incurred huge losses due to the opposition’s frequent countrywide hartals and blockades.’
He also said workers are becoming agitated over frequent hartals and blockades, eating up their income. If the situation goes like this, the workers will be compelled at some time to besiege those responsible for the blockades, he added.
