Buses drop off passengers in Jashore

All Khulna-bound buses from different districts, including Kushtia, Chuadanga, Meherpur and Jhenaidah, are dropping off their passengers at Jashore bus terminal.  

On a spot visit on Friday afternoon, it was seen that passengers are taking CNG-run auto-rickshaws at a higher fare to reach their destination from the bus terminal. 

The operations of all Khulna-bound public transports in Jashore were suspended since Friday morning, resulting in immense suffering of hundreds of commoners.            

Humanyun Kabir works at a company in Jashore city. He is from Boira area in Khulna.

He came to the terminal along with his wife and two children to go to his hometown to spend two-day weekend. But he fell into immense suffering as the bus operation from Jashore to Khulna was halted.          

Biplob Biswas came to Jashore city to attend the recruitment test of the social welfare directorate. He went to the bus terminal to return home after the test ended.

He said, "No bus has been operating on the Khulna route. If I want to go home by auto-rickshaw, then I have to spend two to three times more than bus fare."   

Counter master of Shapla Paribahan, Sabdul Sheikh, said buses ply on 16 routes from Jashore. However, the bus operation between Jashore and Khulna has been suspended due to the BNP rally.  

Jashore district BNP member secretary Syed Saberul Haque told Prothom Alo on Friday that transport owners are not renting their buses and microbuses to the BNP leaders and activists.

He claimed some transport owners said to him that the government has imposed an invisible embargo on transport movement.      

When asked about the claim, Pabitra Kapuria, general secretary of inter-district bus syndicate of Jashore unit, said, "There is no embargo on behalf of the government. We are not renting our buses to BNP to avoid unwarranted incidents."

BNP leaders said nearly 10,000 leaders and activists are supposed to join the rally from Jashore.