Commuters in Rangpur region suffer for 11hrs

The 48-hour strike called by transport workers in Rangpur division was withdrawn yesterday, after 11 hours since its beginning at 6:00am.
The strike on 26 routes in all the eight districts of the division caused immense sufferings to hundreds of commuters.
Candidates, who were travelling to Rangpur to take admission tests of Carmichael College, Rangpur Government College and Begum Rokeya College, were the worst victims, said Dipakendra Nath Das, principal of Carmichael College.
Many candidates failed to reach the divisional headquarters because of the strike, he added.
Hundreds of buses, trucks and other motorised vehicles remained stranded at Pirganj, Kounia, Taraganj since the morning as transport workers barricaded different entry points to the divisional headquarters, said sources at Rangpur Highway Police.
However, with the withdrawal of the strike, vehicles started to operate on all the routes, Altab Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, said.
Rangpur Bibhag Sarak Paribahan O Shramik Federation members called the strike on Thursday following a fight with rival group Rangpur Motor Sramik Union.
MA Mojid, a leader of the federation, and five others were injured in the clash.
The strike was, however, called off as law enforcement agencies assured them that the miscreants responsible for the attack on Mojid would be brought to book, police said.
Meanwhile, the strike added to sufferings of the people of Thakurgaon amid cold snap, reports our district correspondent.
Thakurgaon District Transport Workers' Union also observed the strike.
People in hundreds including women and children were seen waiting at the Thakurgaon bus stand for pick-up vans, human haulers and other vehicles to return home.
Several BRTC buses were obstructed to ply on Thakurgaon-Panchagarh and other routes by unruly transport workers that also added miseries to passengers.
Amena Begum of Baragaon village under the Sadar upazila was forced to travel 18 kilometres in rickshaw and Nosimon, an improvised vehicle, with her nine-month-old ailing child to see a doctor in the district town.
However, she could not see the doctor as there were many patients and she arrived too late to take a serial number. “Now it is very difficult for me to go back home,” she said.
Another mother, Rashida Khatun, of Jhathibhanga village, also suffered greatly as she travelled 20 kilometres by rickshaw with her one-and-a-half-year-old son, who has been suffering from fever for the last two days. She also expressed anxiety for returning home with the minor.