Bus owners have threatened to enforce a two-day-long transport strike before the BNP rally in Barishal.
Barishal Bus Owners Group, an association of bus owners, in a letter said they will observe a strike on November 4 and 5 if three-wheelers, Nasimon-Karimon and other illegal vehicles are not stopped from the highway by November 3. The operation of local and long-distance buses from Nathullabad Central Bus Terminal would be off on the two days.
Kishore Kumar Dey, general secretary of the district bus owners association, also confirmed the matter to our Barishal correspondent.
The warning came via a letter sent to Barishal divisional commissioner on October 24.
BNP’s divisional public meeting is scheduled to be held in Barishal on November 5.
Earlier, a similar transport strike was held in Mymensingh and Khulna before the BNP’s mass rallies.
BNP leaders alleged that the government is going on strike to disrupt the rally. On the other hand, bus owners’ leaders claimed that they do not know about the BNP rally.
Kishore further said that although the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges has banned the movement of three wheelers on the highway, these vehicles are running illegally on the highway.
“They were holding meeting over the halting of movement of the three-wheelers and the bus strike for another seven days. There are no relations of our decision with the BNP rally,” he added.
Talking to the correspondent, BNP’s Barishal Divisional Organising Secretary Bilkis Akhter Jahan Shirin said efforts are being made from all sides to foil BNP’s Barisal divisional rally.
“Why do they have to stop buses on November 4 and 5? These conspiracies are being hatched by the government so that no one can attend the BNP rally on November 5,” she added.
