Passengers suffer as transport strike begins in Sylhet ahead of BNP rally
Commuters in Sylhet have been suffering since Friday (18 November) morning as long-distance bus service stopped in the city a day before the transport strike ahead of Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) divisional rally on Saturday (19 November).
Transport owners and labor organisations called a strike on Saturday in Sylhet. However, bus service has almost stopped since Friday. Especially long-distance buses are not leaving from Sylhet. As a result of which passengers have to suffer the most.
Bus owners say that since the transport strike has started in Habiganj and Moulvibazar from today, long-distance buses are not able to leave Sylhet or come to the city.
However, they said that buses are plying within the district.
Expatriate worker Ashok Ranjan Dev will leave for Malaysia from Dhaka Airport on Friday evening. He came to Sylhet central bus terminal in the morning to go to Dhaka by bus and take the plane in the evening. But when he came to the bus terminal, he saw that no bus was leaving for Dhaka.
"I bought a flight ticket three days ago to go to Malaysia. I bought tickets for Friday as there was a strike on Saturday. That is why I didn't go to Dhaka the night before. But this morning I came to the bus terminal and saw that no bus was leaving," he said.
"If I do not reach Dhaka by afternoon, the money I spent on the ticket would be wasted," he added.
Going to the Sylhet central bus terminal in the morning, it is seen that no long-distance bus is leaving from the terminal except the inter-district bus. Inter-district buses are also very few in number. Long-distance bus counters are also closed.
An employee standing in front of the closed counter of Ena bus service said on the condition of anonymity that the bus will not leave Sylhet before Monday.
Standing in front of the closed counter of Hanif Paribahan, passenger Sharif Hasan said, I work in Dhaka. I know there is a strike on Saturday, so I came today to go to Dhaka. But I can't get any bus here."
Sharif said that some microbuses are going to Dhaka with passengers.
"But they are overcharging," he added.
"Our strike is on Saturday. But the strike has started in Moulvibazar and Habiganj today. If you want to go to Dhaka and other districts, you have to pass through these two districts. But due to the strike in both places, long-distance buses are not able to come and go. However, some buses are running," said General Secretary of Sylhet District Bus Minibus Owners Association Ziaul Kabir Palash.
He said that the inter-district bus movement is normal.
The Bus Owners Association has called a 24-hour bus strike from 6 am in Sylhet on Saturday with five-point demands. The Sylhet Divisional Workers' Unity Parishad also called a strike on Saturday for four different demands.
However, BNP has alleged that the transport strike is a strategy of the government to create obstacles in the political party's rally.
BNP's Sylhet divisional rally will be held at the city's Aliya Madrasa ground on Saturday.
Moulvibazar passengers also suffer
Moulvibazar District Bus-Minibus Owners Association has announced a two-day transport strike in the district from 6 am on Friday to 6 pm on Saturday. Transport leaders said that all types of vehicles will be stopped during this time. Since the morning of the first day of the strike, common passengers have been suffering.
Passengers were seen waiting for the vehicles around the municipal bus stand of Moulvibazar city, Dhaka-Sylhet bus stand and Kulaura-Barlekha bus stand area of Chandnighat.
Buses are lined up at the terminal.
There, a worker named Zayed said, "We are on strike, our leaders say so. Leaders have to keep their word. But if we don't earn money, we don't get food at home."
A passenger named Imran Ali said, "When I came to the bus stand to go to Dhaka, I saw the strike going on. Now I will hire an auto rickshaw and go to Srimangal, from there I will go to Dhaka by train. Money and time wasted."
"The strike has been called demanding a ban on battery-operated three-wheelers on highways, installing grills in CNG autorickshaws, protesting extortion and police harassment in trucks, lorries, pickups, covered vans, and the construction of a permanent truck stand in Moulvibazar district," District Bus-Minibus Owners Association Chairman Rashid Uddin Ahmad.
