8 northern dists cut off from rest of country

The photo shows Dhaka bound buses remain stopped at Kamarpara bus stand in Rangpur city Wednesday morning as transport workers go on a 48-hour strike. Photo: STAR

Eight northern districts of Rangpur division have been cut off from the rest of the country as transport workers went on a 48-hour strike since Wednesday morning to press home their 14-point demand including stopping of transport workers' harassment by police.

Rangpur Division Sarak Paribahan and Sramik Federation enforced the strike on 54 routes of -- Rangpur, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Kurigram, Panchagarh -- districts from 6:00am, reported our Rangpur correspondent.

No long distance buses or trucks were seen on the highways.

Only the battery-run three-wheelers, rickshaws and motorcycles were seen plying on the highways as usual.

Earlier on May 19, the federation at a meeting decided to enforce the strike.

Their other demands include--removal of Md Shahabuddin Khalifa, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kotwali Police Station; putting an end on the extortion of highway by police; increasing wages and allowances for transport workers and issuing driving licences transparently.

The OC harassed workers on several occasions without any valid reason, Akter Hossain Badal, president of the federation claimed.

He also threatened to enforce a fresh 72-hour transport strike if their demands are not meet within 48 hours starting from Wednesday morning.

When contacted, the OC said the workers of the federation brought allegations against him as he resisted them on different occasions from committing crimes including raising extortion.

He also alleged that the workers collected extortion from the goods-laden vehicles which enter the city.

Abdur Razzak, superintendent of police in Rangpur, told The Daily Star that they tried to resolve the matter on Tuesday but the transport workers did not respond to their call.

"The authorities concerned are trying to find a path to settle the issue," he added.