Thousands suffer in wildcat Sylhet transport strike

Thousands of people suffered on the streets in Sylhet yesterday as workers kept their public transports and motorised commercial vehicles off the streets from dawn to dusk while holding a preannounced rally over six demands.

Around 1,000 transport workers attended the rally at Sylhet city's Court Point demanding a truck terminal in Dakkhin Surma upazila, stopping alleged harassment by police and banning battery-run auto-rickshaws.

The city's Kadamtali Bus Terminal, through which locals say around 1 lakh passengers pass every day, was at a standstill with numerous inter-district and upazila buses parked inside. Failing to reach Principal Women's College at Biswanath upazila from the terminal, teacher Shamima Nasrin expressed her worries to The Daily Star over upcoming exams and demanded outlawing strikes not announced well in advance. Brushing aside public suffering, Jakaria Ahmed, president of Sylhet District CNG Auto-Rickshaw, Leguna and Human-Hauler Workers Union, said transport workers were enduring hardships every day.