Transport strike on Ctg-Cox's Bazar road called off

The indefinite transport strike on Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway has been called off following a fruitful meeting between the district administration and the bus owners and workers yesterday evening.
The district administration and other concerned assured Chittagong Bus Malik-Sramik Okya Parishad of fulfillng their demands in the meeting that ended at 9:00pm.
Several thousand tourists got stuck at Cox's Bazar due to the strike that enforced by the Okya Parishad since Thursday morning protesting attacks on buses by the students. They also put forward four-point demand, sources said.
The demands include trial of Thursday's attacks on buses in front Of Cox's Bazar Government College, arrest of those involved in recent attack on transport workers and setting fire to a bus at Chakaria, restriction on students' boarding the buses without fare and ban on plying of micro-buses and Toyota Hiace on these routes illegally.
In the meeting, the district administration assured the transport leaders that the persons involved in launching attacks on buses at Cox's Bazar on Thursday and at Chakaria recently would be brought to book.
The authorities concerned also assured the transport leaders of taking steps against illegal plying of micro-buses on these routes.
The meeting also decided that no student would be allowed to travel by any non-stop inter-city bus.
However, it was decided that the students would be allowed to travel 70-Km from Cox's Bazar to Chakaria only by local buses at a reduced fare, said the sources.
Each local bus will allow five students to travel up to Chakaria at fare ranging from Tk 10 to Tk 20 per head depending on the distance. The students will have to buy tickets before boarding the buses, the meeting decided.