Commuters bear the brunt
Passengers across the country suffered immensely as transport workers started a 48-hour work abstention yesterday to press home their eight-point demand mainly related to bringing amendments to the recently passed Road Transport Act-2018.
The highways and regional roads hardly saw any public transport and goods-laden trucks, our correspondents from different districts report.
Only government-owned BRTC buses and some CNG-run auto-rickshaws were seen plying the streets mostly in town areas.
In many places, the transport workers created barriers on the highways to prevent plying of private vehicles, three-wheelers and motorbikes and even rickshaws and vans.
Large numbers of passengers standing at the bus stoppages looking for a mode of transport were a common scene in every district.
Vegetable growers and traders could not send the items to different places including Dhaka.
“Our 48-hour work abstention started around 6:00am today. And so, no inter-district buses left Gabtoli, Mohakhali or Sayedabad terminals this morning,” Osmani Ali, general secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, told The Daily Star.
Transports workers not only created barriers for the transports, they allegedly harassed passengers by putting burnt lubricants on their faces if somebody tried to commute with the help of alternative vehicles.
In Benapole, hundreds of passengers who came from India were stranded at the land port. Many of them took shelters at local hotels or the houses of local people as no bus left Benapole yesterday. No goods were exported from Bangladesh to India through Benapole port.
In Bogrura, town commuters as well as long route passengers badly suffered as around 15,000 passenger carrying vehicles that run through Dhaka-Rangpur highway had to stop movement due to the transport strike.
“I booked a bus ticket for going to Chattogram to attend admission test at Chottogram University tomorrow [Monday] afternoon but yesterday night they phoned me and told that it's a transport workers strike so bus will not go to Chottagram. Now, there is no scope to attend the admission test,” Sumon Rahman, 19, of Bogura's Nandigram upazila said at Satmatha in Bogura town.
Dhaka-Tangail highway remained virtually off-limits to vehicles, except some goods-laden trucks and CNG and battery-run auto-rickshaws.
Trader Khoda Box along with his daughter was sitting beside the highway at Rabna bypass for a bus to go home in Solonga of Sirajganj.
"I did not know about the strike earlier. I am waiting here with my child for three hours, not knowing when a vehicle will be found," he said.
In Nilphamari, about three thousands buses, trucks, covered vans and pickups remained stranded in the road as transport workers blocked them from plying.
There are 35 bus routes, including inter-district and long routes, operate from the Nilphamari bus stand carrying many thousands of passengers.
People of eight northern districts including Dinajpur suffered a lot as plying of short and long distant vehicles including buses and trucks remained suspended yesterday.
No goods-laden truck left Hili land port, said the traders.
All the passenger buses remained parked at respective bus terminals in Dinajpur, Rangpur and Joypurhat.
Stick wielding transport workers were seen harassing drivers of battery and shallow engine-run three-wheelers and private cars in Dinajpur Bus Terminal and College more areas in presence of their leaders.
The picketers did not even spare an ambulance driver.
In Chapainawabganj, export-import through Sonamasjid land port was normal but no trucks carrying imported goods left the area for other districts, said Ekramul Haque, secretary of Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association of the land port.
Passengers, especially those who needed to travel to long distances including the capital, faced a serious problem.
The transport strike in Jhenidah virtually turned into a road blockade, adding to the woe of passengers.
The picketers forced the passengers to get down from engine-driven three-wheelers in different areas.
In Thakurgaon and Panchagarh, transport workers forcibly stopped plying of vehicles on highways and regional routes that caused immense sufferings to the commuters.
During visit to different spots in Thakurgaon town, this correspondent saw unruly transport workers moving on a truck and a pick-up stopped three-wheeler easy-bikes meant for carrying townspeople in the municipality area and forced passengers to get down from the vehicles.
They were seen smearing the faces of the passengers and drivers with burnt lubricant.
Even the drivers who run the vehicles of government offices were harassed.
In Sartkhira, a large number of passengers suffered badly while over two hundred trucks loaded with imported Indian items including perishable ones got stranded at Bhomra land port due to the transport strike.
In Natore, transport workers vandalised a few locally assembled vehicles known as Leguna when they were plying the highway as an alternative mode of transport for passengers during the strike, said Khorshed Alam, president of district's 'Leguna association'.
Our Bagerhat Correspondent reports: No buses started from Sonadanga Bus Terminal and Shibbari of Khulna city, leaving the passengers, especially those requiring travel to long distances, utterly helpless.
Our Correspondents from Tangail, Nilphamari, Bagerhat, Benapole, Thakurgaon, Natore, Dinajpur, Satkhira, Chapainawabganj, Jhenidah, Bogra contributed for the story.
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