Bus and launch services from Barisal to Dhaka have come to a stop amid fears of violence ahead as Opposition supporters are set to march to Dhaka on Sunday and stage a rally in the capital.
Published : 27 Dec 2013, 08:38 PM
Allegations are there that the authorities had asked the operators not to continue with the service until further orders.
Buses from other districts in the Khulna Division have also been grounded.
Supervisor of the Parabat Launch Company in Barisal, Selim Ahmed, said no vessels were leaving for Dhaka on Friday night.
He told bdnews24.com: "The local administration had asked us around 7:45pm to stop launch services."
As a result, no ferry, including four that were supposed to, would leave for Dhaka, he said.
Meanwhile, no bus had left Barisal after 11:30am on Friday, said Aftab Hossain, President of the Barisal Bus Owners' Association.
He said, "The owners themselves have stopped plying their vehicles from Barisal to Dhaka, fearing damage to their property."
Bus owners and workers were taking no chances, he said, as buses and people had been burnt in the name of shutdowns and blockades.
They feared there could be more violence over Sunday's BNP-led 18-Party alliance's rally, Hossain added.
The ticket staff at counters at Dhaka's Sayedabad Bus Terminal said none of their bus had started for the capital from Khulna, Bagerhat and Pirojpur since morning.
Two buses had started from Dhaka for Bagerhat and Pirojpur but none had started from the two districts, Baleshwar Paribahan ticket-seller ‘Hira’ told bdnews24.com.
He said, "Police are not allowing the buses to run citing safety issues. That's why we cannot run our buses."
Baleshwar Paribahan transports passengers via launch. It takes them to Mawa Ghat, where they cross the Padma River and take another bus to Bagerhat, Pirojpur or Khulna. The same procedure is followed when passengers start for Dhaka from these districts.
Falguni Paribahan counter officer Shafiqul Islam told bdnews24.com: "None of our buses are coming from Khulna, Bagerhat, Rayenda or Pirojpur.
“We took the risk of running a vehicle in the morning. Not sure whether it will get any ferry."
No vehicles would leave the terminal without permission from the transport owners, he said.
Sundarban Paribahan counter's Masud Alam said almost the same thing. "No vehicles are coming in. If all vehicles go in the same direction, we will face problems. So we are running our buses from here carefully."
Meanwhile, transport workers stopped running buses from Chuadanga citing an order from the local administration, but local government officials denied issuing any such order.
Chuadanga District Bus Truck Transport Workers Union President M General Islam said the administration had verbally asked them to stop bus movement until Sunday.
"It's not right to shut down transport service without any reason. Two days earlier, the administration had said the vehicles will run with police security. And today we got the order to shut down. We've got no other way but to follow it."
Seeking anonymity, many transport workers said all Dhaka-bound buses coaches were grounded since 11am Friday following the order.
However, Chuadanga District Road and Transport Owners Association General Secretary Abul Kalam said they did not give any order to ground the Dhaka-bound buses.
Superintendent of Police in the district Md Rashidul Hasan said, "We did not issue any ban. I don’t know why the owners have stopped running the buses."
Chuadanga Deputy Commissioner Delwar Hossain also echoed the SP's words.
"The owners may have stopped the buses to avoid losses due to lack of passengers.'
Meanwhile, Pirojpur District Bus Owners-Workers Union President ‘Hannan’ and General Secretary Saidul Islam said they would keep the buses grounded as there were not enough passengers.
But they will keep the long-route buses off the roads from Saturday in keeping with the indefinite transport strike, he said.
The manager of a bus service at Pirojpur bus terminal, asking not to be named, said they were 'unofficially warned' to not let any bus leave for Dhaka until further notice.
However, three launches had left for the capital on Friday afternoon from the district's Hularhat launch terminal, said the terminal's supervisor ‘Julu’.
Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia has urged the people to converge on Dhaka in a move to thwart the Jan 5 general election.
Ruling Awami League leaders have threatened to resist it if any act of violence or sabotage took place.