Transport strike cripples Dinajpur

All transports have stopped plying in Dinajpur town due to a strike by Motor Workers’ Union. The union called the strike on Wednesday night to protest attacks by students of Haji Mohammad Danesh University of Science and Technology (HMDUST). “We called the strike to protest vandalism,” the union’s general secretary Md Rabbi said on Thursday. Both long-haul and short distance bus services remained suspended during the strike. Buses coming from Dhaka were not allowed into the city since 6 in the morning, putting passengers in trouble. Meanwhile, the university students placed logs to block Dinajpur-Rangpur Highway in front of their campus. On Wednesday afternoon, a bus of Sagarika Paribahan rammed into another bus carrying university employees. When university employees protested, transport workers beat up the helpers of the university bus. They also damaged four university buses, leaving six people including students and employees injured. Later the students came down on the highway and smashed two buses, according to bdnews24.com.