Ctg city bus strike withdrawn

Our Correspondent CHITTAGONG, Oct 10: The city bus owners have withdrawn the strike following a meeting with the police administration in the evening. City bus, minibus owners' association president Abul Kalam Azad told the media that they have withdrawn the 48-hour transport strike after a meeting with the police. The meeting was held at the office of the deputy commissioner (traffic) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police at 6.0 pm today. The meeting was attended by some members of the association and police officers of the traffic department. Azad said they have withdrawn the strike as the police ensured their safety on the city streets and taking bus fare at the government rate. Meanwhile, an earlier report adds: Commuters of Chittagong city today faced severe transport problem due to lack of buses on the streets following an unscheduled transport strike called by bus owners. The bus owners remained off the streets protesting attack on the transport workers. Clashes between the commuters and transport workers erupted as a section of the city buses demanded extra fares from the commuters on Sunday morning. They said the strike was called for 48 hours beginning from Monday morning and it may lead to a harder programme if they "are not ensured safety on the roads." They called the strike from a meeting of the city bus owners held on Sunday evening, they added. Thousands of office-goers and students of different schools suffered a lot due to scarcity of city transports. Students were seen going to the educational institutions on pedalled rickshaws and auto-rickshaws. Buses plying the routes of number 10 and 10A were comparatively very few in number and passengers commuting from Bahaddarhat to Patenga were seen struggling to avail a bus, while thousands of mid-way passengers on the route saw buses running packed up from the starting point. City bus, minibus and human hauler owners' association president Abul Kalam said several other associations of transport owners have also expressed their solidarity with the strike. AC (traffic) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police Md Shahidullah said the bus owners called the transport strike without any prior notice or discussion with the police. Chittagong Road Transport Owners' Association at a press conference recently said they would charge Tk 5 for the first three kilometres and Tk 1.60 for the next kilometre which was Tk 3 and Tk 1.55 respectively prior to the press conference.