Harassment claims halt long-distance buses from Benapole, cause passenger suffering

Halting services without discussion was inappropriate, a municipal official says

The bus owners' association has suspended all long-haul buses from Benapole, citing passenger harassment.

The owners claimed the buses were forced to drop off passengers at the municipal bus terminal late on Friday night rather than at the checkpost.

The halt of services has left passport-carrying passengers in trouble.

Transport officials said a meeting was held between Jashore deputy commissioner, local citizens, and transport officers a week ago to address traffic congestion.

The meeting decided that long-haul and local buses departing for cities, including Jashore and Dhaka, would operate from the municipal bus terminal, two kilometres from Benapole Bazar.

Long-haul buses arriving from cities, including Dhaka, will return to the terminal after dropping passengers at the Benapole International Checkpost.

However, around 3am on Friday, municipal officials allegedly forced bus passengers arriving from across the country to descend at the terminal instead of the checkpost.

In protest, the owners' association halted the operation of all long-route buses.

Bablur Rahman Babu, president of the Benapole Transport Manager Association, said, "We have been following the administration's instructions since the meeting. Buses from Dhaka dropped passengers at the Benapole checkpost and returned to the terminal. But on Friday morning, passengers were forcibly dropped off at the terminal, making them feel insecure and subject to harassment.”

"Municipality officials then sent those passengers to the checkpost in local buses,” he added.

Transport workers pointed out that if local buses could reach the checkpost that night, long-distance buses could have dropped passengers there directly.

Mehedi Hasan, a passenger from Dhaka, said, "We were dropped at the municipal terminal, two kilometres from the border at 3am. I had to wait at a tea stall for two hours before taking an easy bike to the border."

In response to these incidents, the owners' association slammed long-distance buses from Friday night, claiming passenger harassment by municipal officials.

No buses left for Benapole that night, and all transport services from Benapole remained suspended on Saturday.

Benapole municipal administrator and Sharsha Upazila Executive Officer Kazi Nazib Hasan said, "We did not suspend the checkpost terminal. The port authorities shut the terminal gate following directions from higher authorities, forcing passengers to be dropped at the municipal terminal late Friday night."

Stating that the passenger buses are not being obstructed by the administration if they reach the checkpost between midnight and 6am, he said: “Long-haul buses transported passengers to the checkpoint early on Saturday."

Nazib condemned the owners' association's actions, saying: "The representatives of the bus owners’ association could have discussed issues with us. They are doing this to create unrest."

Meanwhile, passport-holding passengers noted that Petrapole, India, has a terminal near immigration for passengers’ convenience. In contrast, passengers are being sent to a terminal two kilometres away by blocking the border terminal in Bangladesh, causing extreme suffering and insecurity for passengers.