Transport owners, workers in Rajshahi Division join strike called by their Khulna counterparts

Transport owners and workers in Rajshahi division have expressed solidarity with their Khulna Division counterparts and joined a strike enforced by the latter since Wednesday.

Buses from the eight districts of the northern division of the country would stop operating from Monday morning, Rajshahi Motor Workers’ Union General Secretary Kamal Hossain Robi said.

He told bdnews24.com that the decision was announced by Transport Workers’ Federation’s Rajshahi Division chapter President Abdul Latif Mandal, at a press briefing on Saturday.

The decision was made after consulting the leaders of Motor Workers’ Federations of Bogra, Pabna, Jaoypurhat, Naogaon, Natore, Chapainawabganj, Sirajganj and Rajshahi, added Robi.

The strike has been enforced after police detained the driver of a Sohag Paribahan bus and his assistant for interrogation following a robbery at Faridpur’s Madhukhali on May 18.

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

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

On Wednesday, the transport strike was called in the southern districts demanding unconditional release of the two 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 Saturday.