Two-day bus strike ahead of BNP's Barishal rally
The bus owners have called a two-day strike on 4 and 5 November in Barishal, to press home their demand to stop illegal operation of three-wheelers and rented motorcycles on the highways.
The Barishal district bus owners group announced the strike at a time when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is scheduled to hold its fourth divisional rally there on 5 November.
The BNP leaders alleged that the tactic has been adopted to thwart the gathering in the divisional rally. Earlier, a similar bus strike was called before the BNP rally in Khulna while many obstacles including the suspension of bus service all of a sudden were created to foil the BNP rally in Mymensingh.
The BNP leaders are confident that the divisional rally will turn into a ‘sea of people’ overcoming all odds
Golam Mashreque and Kishore Kumar Dey, president and secretary general of the district bus owners group respectively, have submitted a letter to the divisional commissioner, setting 3 November as the deadline for meeting their demands.
If the demands are not met by then, they will suspend operation of all long-haul buses from the Nathullabad central bus terminal, in addition to that of internal routes from Rupatoli terminal.
Amin Ul Ahsan, the divisional commissioner, said they received the letter. “There is a directive from the High Court and the government in this regard. We have assured (them) that we will take action accordingly to stop the operation of these vehicles.”
BNP has submitted an application to the Barishal deputy commissioner (DC), seeking permission to hold a rally at Bangabandhu Udyan in the city on 5 November. But the DC office is yet to respond to the application.
Meanwhile, the BNP leaders vented anger over the bus strike. But the party leaders said the rush of people towards the rally cannot be restrained through the transport strike. They are confident that the rally will turn into a ‘sea of people’ overcoming all odds.
Moniruzzaman, convener of Barishal city BNP, said they are certain that such a step will be taken in Barishal, taking a cue from Chattogram, Mymensingh and Khulna.
“We have heard that a request has been made to stop bus services. We are sure that it would happen. Because, the government adopted a tactic to thwart the public gatherings in Chattogram, Mymensingh and Khulna through such shameful acts,” he said, adding that all these efforts will go in vain and the 5 November rally will turn into a ‘sea of people’.
However, the general secretary of the bus owners association justified their strike, saying the step was taken to safeguard the interest of passengers and transports.