Pabna transport workers, owners threaten strike
Transport owners and workers in the district have threatened to stop vehicular movement from Monday if an arrested transport driver is not released and a detained truck is not returned to the owner within Sunday.
“The highway police was formed to maintain the security for the vehicles moving on highways but they often extort from the transport drivers and workers,” Md Firoz Khan, president of Pabna district unit of Motor Shramik union, said at a press conference at Pabna Press Club yesterday.
"They stop vehicles mostly at night and demand huge toll. They often torture our drivers and workers for declining to meet the demand," he said, reading out the key note paper at the conference.
"Police in Kaliakoir under Gazipur district arrested Abdul Matin, driver of Titas Paribahan, in a false robbery case on October 21. Highway police also picked up a truck from the highway in Gazipur two months ago and demanded Tk 2.5 lakh toll. Police is yet to release the truck," Md Shahidur Rahman, president of truck and covered van workers association.
Speakers at the programme claimed that each truck has to give Tk 5,000 to police on the highway from Chapainwabganj to Chittagong and Tk 2,000 on Pabna to Rajshahi route.
Rampant extortion and harassment by police on the highways is going on, despite transport owners' and workers' repeated appeal to the administration for stopping the nuisance, they said.
“If detained bus driver Motin is not released and the truck caught by Gazipur highway police is not returned to the owner within Sunday we will stop movement of buses, trucks and covered vans in Pabna from Monday,” said Shamsur Rahman Manik, president of Pabna district unit of truck owners group.
“If the rampant extortion and harassment by highway police does not end we will go for countrywide agitation,” he said.
Pabna district units of transport workers association, truck owners group, bus-minibus owners association and truck and covered van workers association jointly organised the press conference.
Comments