Bus strike hits commuters in Dhaka

City-dwellers’ weekend morning has been ruined as the city buses were off the road in response to a day-long transport strike called in protest against a bus owner’s murder.

Long distance-buses too are grounded.

Earlier on Thursday night, a transport owners’ association leader had informed bdnews24.com that long-distance buses would stay off the road on Friday.

The strike came close on the heels of a 60-hour strike by 18-party opposition from Nov 4 to 6.

Crowds of commuters in bus stations across the city swell rapidly, with transport workers wielding sticks obstructing bus services.

The strikers beat up a bus driver in Mohakhali as he was plying the bus on the route no 6 around 9 am.

Even human haulers like Leguna were being prevented from operating in city’s Mohammadpur bus station by transport workers.

No long-distance bus left any of the city’s inter-city bus terminals since Friday morning.

Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity called the strike hours after Sayedabad Transport Owners Association General Secretary Khairul Molla, 45, was killed at the capital’s Motijheel on Thursday evening.

Molla was also the Organising Secretary of the Awami League’s Demra unit. The motives behind the murder were not immediately known.

Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity General Secretary Enayet Ullah had told bdnews24.com that Sayedabad bus terminal would observe the day-long strike, disrupting bus services to Chittagong, Sylhet, Noakhali and Comilla.