Transport strike in Khulna division spells harrowing time for commuters

A strike called by transport workers continues to leave tens of thousands of commuters in the southern districts stranded and disrupted cross-country travel.

The transporters called the indefinite strike last Wednesday in protest against the arrest of a driver and his assistant in a case over robbery in a night coach.

Police detained the driver of the Sohag Paribahan bus and his assistant for interrogation after the robbery at Faridpur’s Madhukhali on Monday night.

The bus was on its way to Benapole.

The detained driver and his assistant were later shown arrested in the robbery case.

But their fellow workers and transport owners claimed police arrested them when the driver went to Madhukhali Police Station to file a complaint.

On Wednesday, they called the strike in the southern districts demanding unconditional release of the duo and withdrawal of the Faridpur superintendent of police and Madhukhali Police Station OC.

No buses from Faridpur, Jessore, Kushtia, Jhenaidah, Khulna and Satkhira went to Dhaka until Friday.

Intra-district routes too were closed.

Many of the passengers from India who had entered Bangladesh through Benapole land port and also those who had gone to the district were stranded.

bdnews24.com Benapole correspondent said hundreds of passengers from India were stranded at Benapole due to the strike.

They were staying in the bus counters and hotels. Many others rented cars and microbuses or used commuter train to leave the place.

Tarun Kumar Biswas, Sheikh Abu Jamal, Said-uz-Zaman’, his wife Rafiz-az-Zaman and Harishchandra Paul were some of the India-returned passengers staying at Eagle Paribahan’s waiting room.

They told bdnews24.com on Friday noon that they knew about the strike but had to return as their visa expired and were now facing immense suffering.

Nakul Saha of Dhaka’s Bakshibazar, and Nazir Ahmed and Sakhawat Hossain of Madaripur were also stranded there.

They had been staying at a counter of a moneychanger office near Benapole check post.

Saha’s son Utsya Saha, a sixth grader of Dhaka’s Udyan High School, said his half-yearly exam would start from Sunday.

“But I can’t go home due to the strike even after cutting short our India tour,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jessore District Bus, Minibus, Truck, Lorry Owners and Workers United Committee has vowed to continue the strike until the two transport workers were released.

Its General Secretary Pabitra Kapudia said the two were innocent.

Bangladesh Paribahan Sangstha Sramik Samity’s Jessore unit President Azizul Alam Mintu said, “We gave a deadline until 5pm Thursday. But the authorities did not fulfil our demand. So all the intra-district and long-haul routes in Khulna division will remain closed.”

Jhenaidah correspondent said no bus left the terminals in the district.