Bus services resume on Dhaka-M’singh, 3 other dist routes
After keeping their vehicles off the road for the second consecutive day, resulting in a suspension of communications with the capital via Mymensingh city, bus owners in Mymensingh and three other districts called off their strike last evening.
The decision was made around 8:30pm yesterday evening at the assurance of settling the matter owners and leaders of the transport sector in Mymensingh said adding that they would elaborate on their decision after today’s meeting of the Regional Transport Committee (RTC).
RTC Chairman and Mymensingh Deputy Commissioner Mizanur Rahman is scheduled to preside over the meeting at 12 noon today.
Mymensingh district motor owners’ association enforced the indefinite strike from Monday afternoon over an alleged assault on several of their transport workers by staffers of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), the state-owned transport service operator.
Ali Hossain, joint secretary of Mymensingh district motor vehicle workers’ union also confirmed the decision made by the bus owners.
Mahbubur Rahman, secretary of the bus owners’ association, claimed that the incident took place around 11:00am on Monday at bus counters of private bus operators near Shambhuganj bridge in Mymensingh city.
After two BRTC buses from Netrakona made stops at the counters, the workers of the private operators locked in an altercation with BRTC staffers and at one stage the BRTC staffers “assaulted” some of their workers, he also claimed.
After visiting the spot, the owners’ association leaders decided to go on an indefinite strike for bus services operating between Dhaka and Mymensingh as well as services to and from Sherpur, Netrakona and Kishoreganj districts via Mymensingh city, Mahbubur added.
Several passengers who found themselves stranded at Shambhuganj bridge bus counters yesterday told this correspondent that the general public usually prefer BRTC to private operators for affordable fares and better vehicles and that might be the reason behind the hostility of private operators towards BRTC.
Many others said although the private transport operators have been making people hostage for their own gains for a long time, there seems to be no one to stop them from causing such recurring sufferings to people.
Holding her five-year old son’s hand, Arifa Akter was also looking for a transport to Haluaghat upazila at the Shambhuganj bridge bus counters. Finding no bus, she was pondering whether she should hire a CNG-run auto-rickshaw at a fare that is three to four times costlier.
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