City passenger buses back on road
Thursday, 11 March 2010
FE Report
City commuters breathed a sigh of relief after an indefinite strike called by the owners of counter-based buses was withdrawn Wednesday noon following assurance from authorities to meet their demands.
Services of over 2,500 buses of around 50 counter-based bus operators were suspended on Tuesday afternoon after the owners called the strike in the capital and its adjoining areas in protest against rising incidences of extortion.
The strike was withdrawn after a meeting between Mozibur Rahman, president of the parliamentary standing committee on communications affairs and the bus owners association at Sangsad Bhaban in the morning.
After the meeting, Vice-president of Association of Bus Company Khandaker Rafiqul Hossain Kajal told reporters they had withdrawn the strike as the authorities have assured them of taking action in this regard.
The issue will be placed at the meeting of the standing committee next week, Mozibur Rahman said.
The strike came into force Tuesday afternoon after two Shatabdi Paribahan buses were damaged allegedly by activists of Dhaka Road Transport Association at Mirpur-2 at about 11:00am.
Shatabdi Paribahan managing director Mohammad Sharifuddin Khandakar and some of his staff were severely beaten up by the association activists when he went to the spot and declined to pay tolls.
The bus owners immediately held a meeting in the office of Swakalpa Paribahan in the capital and decided to call an indefinite strike, causing untold sufferings to the commuters from the afternoon.
Stranded passengers said the strike left them with no other alternatives but to hire rickshaws and CNG-run auto-rickshaws at cut-throat fares to reach their destinations.
The news of the withdrawal of the strike came as a welcome relief to the passengers - mainly office-goers and students - who heavily rely on counter bus services to travel within the city.
"I was worried during the strike, as it is costlier to go to Dhanmondi from Rampura in the absence of counter-bus services," Mahida Jyoti, a banker, told the FE.
The bus owners also submitted a memorandum to Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain containing various demands, including stopping extortion, arresting the attackers and ensuring safety of bus owners.
City commuters breathed a sigh of relief after an indefinite strike called by the owners of counter-based buses was withdrawn Wednesday noon following assurance from authorities to meet their demands.
Services of over 2,500 buses of around 50 counter-based bus operators were suspended on Tuesday afternoon after the owners called the strike in the capital and its adjoining areas in protest against rising incidences of extortion.
The strike was withdrawn after a meeting between Mozibur Rahman, president of the parliamentary standing committee on communications affairs and the bus owners association at Sangsad Bhaban in the morning.
After the meeting, Vice-president of Association of Bus Company Khandaker Rafiqul Hossain Kajal told reporters they had withdrawn the strike as the authorities have assured them of taking action in this regard.
The issue will be placed at the meeting of the standing committee next week, Mozibur Rahman said.
The strike came into force Tuesday afternoon after two Shatabdi Paribahan buses were damaged allegedly by activists of Dhaka Road Transport Association at Mirpur-2 at about 11:00am.
Shatabdi Paribahan managing director Mohammad Sharifuddin Khandakar and some of his staff were severely beaten up by the association activists when he went to the spot and declined to pay tolls.
The bus owners immediately held a meeting in the office of Swakalpa Paribahan in the capital and decided to call an indefinite strike, causing untold sufferings to the commuters from the afternoon.
Stranded passengers said the strike left them with no other alternatives but to hire rickshaws and CNG-run auto-rickshaws at cut-throat fares to reach their destinations.
The news of the withdrawal of the strike came as a welcome relief to the passengers - mainly office-goers and students - who heavily rely on counter bus services to travel within the city.
"I was worried during the strike, as it is costlier to go to Dhanmondi from Rampura in the absence of counter-bus services," Mahida Jyoti, a banker, told the FE.
The bus owners also submitted a memorandum to Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain containing various demands, including stopping extortion, arresting the attackers and ensuring safety of bus owners.