Transport owners suspended bus movement on Chattogram-Cox Bazar route on Sunday morning in protest against attacks on some transport workers, resulting in immense suffering of commuters.
Transport workers said they staged demonstrations in the Natun Bridge area, the entry and exit point of Chattogram city, in the morning blocking the road.
Due to the sudden strike, the commuters suffered much on the first day of the week while some of them were seen moving towards their destinations on foot. Passengers had to count an extra amount of money to reach their destinations by three-wheelers.
Transport workers claimed that they were forced to go on strike as transport leader Musa and his cohorts beat up them for protesting the extortion from the transports.
They alleged that Musa has been charging over TK 1600 from Cox’s Bazar-bound local buses from Chattogram and he and his accomplices have been realising tolls from the vehicles in the name of various organisations.
Md Akbar, coordinator of Arakan Sarak Paribahan Sramik Union, alleged that Secretary Musa and others have been sucking their blood for the last 17 years without elections.
In the last 17 years, 8,000 workers left the profession due to their persecution. They don’t want this dictatorship anymore, he said.
However, Bangladesh Army has reportedly been trying to resolve the issue, said locals.
