Commuters and businesses suffered heavily yesterday as public buses and goods-laden trucks stayed off the roads due to a strike enforced by transport owners and workers over the hike in fuel prices.

No inter-district buses operated to and from the capital. The goods-carrying transport also went off the roads, hampering business activities and causing a domino effect on different sectors.

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Prices of vegetables and fish went up in the capital’s kitchen markets because of a supply shortage due to the strike.

The city dwellers woke up to see the roads and thoroughfares largely devoid of buses and minibuses. As a result, those who sought to travel on the weekend were forced to pay higher fares to get to their destinations by auto-rickshaws or motorbikes.

People were found walking to their destinations in most of the areas.

However, the people’s suffering is likely to continue for two more days as a decision in this regard would be taken on Sunday.

The non-availability of public transport during the strike took a heavy toll on exam candidates, who struggled to reach exam centres on time for taking the admission test of the seven Dhaka University-affiliated colleges.

Jobseekers also had to bear the brunt of the strike as two dozen government recruitment tests were held yesterday.

Sathi Akhter, a student from the Jagir area in Manikganj, had a recruitment test in Dhaka, but could not manage any vehicle even after waiting for four hours at the bus stand.

“I have been waiting here since 6:00am. I need the job. Who will compensate for my loss?” a frustrated Sathi told our Manikganj correspondent around 10:00am.

Her exam began at 10:00am.

Another jobseeker Shakhwat Hossain said, “The government actually does not bother about people’s suffering. They knew about recruitment tests but did not take any measures to stop the strike.”

‘WE’RE HELD HOSTAGE’

Businessman Nazrul Islam vented his anger as he had to spend extra money on travelling to Mitford Hospital from Shewrapara.

“I spent Tk 350. If there was no strike, it would have cost me only Tk 30,” he said, adding that he reached the hospital in break journeys — first by a rickshaw and then an auto-rickshaw.

Mizan Rahman, a sales staff at a shopping mall in Gulshan-1, had to take a rickshaw from his Malibagh home for his workplace due to the strike.

“I paid three times the regular rickshaw fare for going to my workplace. We are simply held hostage. None cares for us,” he said.

Only some state-owned BRTC buses operated in the, but those were found packed with passengers. However, many cars, rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and motorcycles were seen plying the roads.

People who wanted to leave Dhaka for districts for emergency work were seen hiring microbuses with higher fares as there were no long-route buses available.

The government hiked diesel and kerosene prices by 23 percent to Tk 80 per litre from Thursday midnight to cover the losses of the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) from the surging global energy prices.

Transport leaders, who have long been demanding fare hikes, took no time to enforce the strike. They demanded the government either change the decision of fuel price hike or increase bus fare.

The government body responsible for re-fixing bus fare set Sunday to hold a discussion on the issue, meaning people have to endure the suffering for at least two more days.

Despite calls to withdraw the strike by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, transport leaders and owners said they will not call off their strike until the fare is increased.

Khondaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, said: “We have a meeting in this regard on Sunday. Till then we’ll continue our strike.”

DELIVERY OF IMPORTED GOODS HAMPERED

The delivery of imported goods from the Chittagong Port was hampered badly since yesterday morning due to the nationwide transport strike.

Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Secretary Md Omar Faruq said many vehicles, including trucks and covered vans, which arrived to take deliveries could not enter the port due to obstacles created by transport workers observing the strike, and it is hampering the delivery of goods, reports our Chattogram staff correspondent.

“The loading and unloading of containers at the port jetties may slow down if the strike lingers,” said the official.

“The delivery of imported goods, which are first unloaded from containers and then delivered from the port yards, is getting hampered as most of the vehicles that are supposed to carry these goods are yet to turn up,” said an on-duty operational officer at the port’s security department.

He said only 204 such trucks and covered vans entered the port till noon yesterday.

SITUATION OUTSIDE DHAKA

Like Dhaka, people across the country suffered from the transport strike.

Tamalika Mitra and her younger brother Shyamal Mitra came to visit their aunt’s house at the city’s Jamal Khan area from their village at Hathazari upazila of Chattogram yesterday to celebrate the Dipaboli festival.

“We have been waiting here for an hour but we don’t see any bus,” said Tamalika while waiting at Muradpur but stop in the morning.

“We need to return today as my brother, an eighth grader, has to prepare for his final examinations,” she said.

A similar situation prevailed in Cumilla. Trucks and buses were not operated in the district. Movement of transport on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway remained almost halted, reports our local correspondent.

No long haul buses were operated from Nathullabad and Rupatli bus terminals in Barisal. No trucks were seen running in those areas.

However, the operation of launches was not halted.

Saidur Rahman Rintu, vice-president of the launch owners’ association, said they are fearing huge losses due to the sudden rise in fuel prices.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Inland Waterways (passenger carriers) Association yesterday demanded the government double the launch fare from Tk 1.7 per km to Tk 3.4 per km for the first 100 km and from Tk 1.4 per km to Tk 2.8 per km for travelling the distance beyond first 100 km.

In a letter signed by association President Mahbub Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram, it requested Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority to take measures to increase the fare.

Many passengers arriving by launch from Dhaka were stranded at the launch terminals in southern districts as they could not avail public transport to reach their destinations.

Taking an undue advantage of the situation, rickshaws, auto-rickshaws charged passengers extra fare.

Abu Bakar of Dhankhali village in Kalapara upazila said, “Travelling from Dhaka, I got off a vessel at Patuakhali launch ghat in the morning and came to the bus stand to go home. But I found that there were not buses due to the strike.”

He later reached home by an auto-rickshaw spending about five times more than the regular fare.

The strike also halted transportation of vegetables from northern districts, including Dinajpur and Rangpur, as trucks went off the roads.

Truck driver Salahuddin said the sudden increase in fuel price by Tk 15 a liter also put them in trouble.

“The government has increased the fuel price, but not the truck fare. Now it is difficult for us to ask people for paying higher fares.”

Lokman Hossain, manager of Gausia Bhandar at the capital’s Karwan Bazar, said the supply of vegetables fell due to the strike.

“A few trucks are coming to the market from the northern districts,” he said.

Yesterday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader urged the transport owners and workers to withdraw their strike considering the suffering of examinees and general people.

“Efforts will be made to keep the extra pressure on the people at a tolerable level through a realistic price adjustment, in consultation with the stakeholders concerned,” said Quader, also the Awami League general secretary.



Hostage to mindless moves
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