Left helpless

Rashida Aktar, a postgraduate student, suffered a lot on the road when she went to Eden Mohila College in the capital for an exam yesterday morning.

Her seven-month old baby and younger brother travelled with her from Tongi. But the way back home was much more difficult.

At the capital's farmgate in the afternoon, she made several failed attempts to get onboard the packed state-run BRTC buses while holding the baby.

"I managed to get on a BRTC bus in Tongi in the morning. Though it was fully packed, I somehow got on," she told this correspondent.

After her exam at the Eden, she came to Farmgate on a rickshaw, hoping to find a bus. But the BRTC buses were crammed with people.

On the third day of the transport strike, commuters were seen standing precariously on the bumpers of the red buses.

"I can't afford to hire an auto-rickshaw. I'll have to wait until I can get on a bus," said Rashida after waiting for an hour at Farmgate.

Like her, thousands of commuters, particularly office goers in the capital, suffered a lot due to the countrywide transport strike.

Many, including students, rode on rickshaw vans and trucks to commute.

The BRTC buses could carry only a fraction of the commuters.

The capital's main thoroughfares were filled with rickshaws.

Tapashi Chakrawarti, a private firm employee, left her home in Khilkhet in the morning to catch a bus. "It seemed people were fighting to get on the buses. I waited for about two hours. Then I hired an auto rickshaw, spending Tk 300," she said, adding that the regular bus fare is only Tk 25.

Transport owners and workers called the strike after the government on Wednesday night raised the prices of diesel and kerosene by Tk 15 to Tk 80 per litre, citing a hike in global prices.