Transport strike in Ctg begins

Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation have been enforcing a 24-hour transport strike in Chittagong division on Sunday to press for its 5-point-demand, including repair of roads, issuance of appointment letters to transport workers, cancellation of the proposal to hold drivers responsible only for an accident. The federation’s eastern region committee chief Mrinal Chowdhury announced the hartal programme on Saturday. He said that 36 organisations of workers called the strike for Sunday and they would observe it. ‘The strike will start from 6:00am on Sunday and end at 6:00am on Monday. Workers of all public transports including bus, truck and minibus will refrain from work. The strike will be observed in all districts in the south-eastern division including three hill districts and Cox’s Bazar, he said. The federation on Oct 25 had threatened to call the strike if their demands were not met. However, Awami League’s Chittagong metropolitan unit President ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury had warned the workers saying the strike would be thwarted. ‘A handful of labour leaders for their own benefit called the strike ignoring the suffering of people. But most owners and workers are not interested in that. They would have to pay price if vehicular movement is hampered, Mohiuddin Chowdhury said during a meeting with several organisations of transport owners on Saturday afternoon, according to a news agency.