Transport strike makes millions suffer

People across the country, including passengers, admission-seekers and businesspeople, suffered for an acute crisis of transports on Sunday, the first day of the 48-hour countrywide transport strike.
Almost no buses, three-wheelers, taxicabs, trucks, covered vans, pick-up vans and trailers ran on highways and roads in the capital as elsewhere in the country. 
People in their thousands walked miles to reach their destinations while many risked their lives riding on the bumper of the small number of jam-packed BRTC buses and trucked that ventured out amid threat of being vandalised.
Farmers, kitchen markets and wholesale businesspeople failed to deliver their products in time. 
Transport workers vandalised vehicles including ambulances and humiliated journalists, pedestrians including school-going children and fellow workers by pouring burnt oil on them in the capital. 
They also obstructed movement of fire service and medicine vehicles all over the country.
No export-import goods were delivered from and to the Chattogram port on the day, said Chattogram Port Authority secretary Mohammad Omar Faruk.
Export-import activities at Benapole land port were also hampered.
No essential goods came to the capital’s wholesale markets on Sunday and no products were sold in absence of goods-carrying transports, said Narayan Chandra Saha, a senior wholesale trader at Shaymbazar in the capital. 
Taking the advantage, drivers of CNG-run auto-rickshaws, rickshaw-pullers and riders of even ridesharing service charged double to triple the normal fares. 
Huge pressure of people was seen at different railway stations including Kamalapur station for long-route journeys. 
Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation on Saturday announced the work abstention, demanding changes to the newly enacted Road Transport Act, 2018.
Since 6:00am on Sunday, no long route buses left the capital’s Saidabad, Mohakhali and Gabtoli inter-district bus terminals.
In the Saidabad terminal area, agitated transport workers set check-post and did not allow any bus, truck, CNG autos, microbus and bikes of ridesharing services.
They assaulted a number of covered van and CNG auto drivers for carrying passengers and smeared their faces with burnt oil and forced them to park vehicles on roads under Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover.
On the flyover, transport workers vandalised an ambulance and smeared the face of the driver with burnt oil at noon when the vehicle was coming from Chandpur with an elderly patient to a clinic at Karwan Bazar in the capital. 
Some photos were shared on social media which showed that at Shanir Akhra and Jatrabari transport workers poured burnt oil on trucks, pick-up vans, microbuses, motorcycles and cars and their drivers. 
They even poured burnt oil on female students.
Two workers were expelled for these offences, claimed senior leaders of the federation.
Workers were seen to obstruct vehicles at Jatrabari and Kamalapur.
At Gabtoli, in absence of long-route buses, people were seen to get on trucks and pick-up vans risking their lives. 
The strikers also stopped buses of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation on different long and Dhaka city routes. 
The office-goers and students were the worst sufferers as they had to pay higher fares. 
Commuters suffered immensely in the port city as since morning most of the public transports and long-route buses remained off the roads, reports New Age correspondent in Chattogram. 
Admission test of D unit was held in Chattogram University on the day and hundreds of applicants found it very difficult to reach there.
At points like Free Port, Jamal Khan, GEC, Station Road, Bohoddarhat, Alongkar, Dewanhat, transport leaders obstructed CNG autos.
A huge number of cars and rickshaws were seen on roads while the drivers were charging extra. 
Prime Mover Owners’ Association president Abu Bakar said they did not run any trailer on the day from Chattogram. 
New Age correspondent in Jashore reports that 89 trucks entered Benapole on the day while not a single truck start for India with exported goods, said Benapole Land Port Authority director Pradyut Kanti Das.
Mohsin Milon, joint secretary of Benapole customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association, told New Age that around 100 passport holders who came to Bangladesh through Benapole had to stay at Benapole because of the strike.
Few hundred transport workers blocked the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway at Lalpole, obstructing all vehicles including ambulances, fire service and medicine vehicles, reports New Age correspondent in Feni. 
New Age correspondent in Cumilla reports that transport workers blocked different roads in the city. 
New Age correspondent in Bogura reports that at Mohasthan kitchen market businesspeople said they would face losses if the strike continued. 
No passenger buses were seen to leave the bus terminals in Sylhet for their destinations while transport workers took position at different points obstructing movement of vehicles including CNG autos and private microbuses. 
New Age correspondent in Rangpur reports that no buses and auto-rickshaws ran on the roads, except BRTC buses. 
The suffering of people intensified as the one and only intercity train service, Rangpur Express was off for its weekend schedule. 
New Age correspondent in Tangail reports that no inter-district and inter upazila buses ran while toll collection on Bangabandu Bridge declined by about 80 per cent on the day.
New Age correspondent in Rajshahi reports that people were seen waiting for vehicles at every intersection while commuters used human haulers, easy bikes and battery-operated rickshaws paying double the normal fare.
Some of the departments of Rajshahi University postponed their scheduled classes and in-course examinations as no university buses left the campus.
Shipping minister Shajahan Khan, also executive president of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers’ Federation, on Sunday refused to make any comment on the ongoing countrywide strike when journalists approached him. 
He only said, ‘No comments.’
At Shetu Bhaban, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader urged the workers to withdraw the strike and added that it was not possible right now to amend the law.
The federation general secretary Osman Ali said that the authorities did not discuss with them their demands on Sunday. 
After the work abstention they did not have further programme, he said, claiming that they had urged fellow workers not to obstruct anyone to use roads. 
Their demands include making all offences by road accident bailable, cancellation of the provision of fining Tk 5 lakh for involvement in a road accident, keeping a representative from their federation in any probe body formed for road accident, fixing minimum educational qualification for getting driving licence to class-V, and stopping police harassment on roads.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net