A countrywide 24-hour transport strike got underway at 6am on Thursday, leaving thousands of people in distress.Workers’ body Sarak Paribahan Sromik Federation (SPSF) has called the strike, demanding the release of their leader Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas.
Biswas, also special assistant to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was arrested on Nov 8.
The Opposition Leader’s special aide and four other senior BNP leaders were arrested in connection with cases of vandalism and attack on police, and are currently in jail custody.
The strike will last till 6am on Friday, SPSF’s Joint General Secretary Abbas Uddin told bdnews24.com.
“Our sole demand is the release of our organisation’s Joint Secretary Shimul Biswas,” he said.
Ambulances and media vehicles have been exempted from the strike, said Abbas.
Long-haul buses remained stuck in Dhaka terminals because of the strike.
Public transport in capital Dhaka was thin, leaving office-goers and students to fend for themselves.
No long-haul bus services operated from the Gabtoli and Kalyanpur bus terminals.
Wahiduzzaman Shovon, a student, found himself in a fix at Gabtoli.
“I had booked an advance ticket for the Dhaka-Shatkhira route by Golden Line Services. But the counter is closed and there’s no sign of the bus. I don’t know how to go,” he said.
Counter managers of several bus services said they would not be able to run the bus during the strike.
Transport workers, with batons and sticks have taken up position at Mirpur, preventing vehicles from going to the Gabtoli bus terminal, one of Dhaka’s key exit points.
“We are only letting in the buses that had left for Dhaka last night. But none will be allowed to leave the terminal,” SPSF’s Gabtoli unit’s General Secretary Md Alauddin told bdnews24.com.
The bus-stops in Dhaka overflowed with office and school-gores on Thursday morning, as city-service buses too went off the road.
Police on Nov 8 arrested five BNP leaders, including Shimul, after the Opposition announced a third spell of shutdown in three weeks to press for a non-party government to oversee the national polls.
The BNP leaders have been accused of triggering explosions, assault on police and vandalism in two cases.
Their bail pleas are expected to be heard on Thursday. – bdnews24.com
