Communications Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday urged Jamaat-e-Islami to withdraw its 48-hour countrywide shutdown beginning on August 12 so that the holidaymakers can return to their workplaces after the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr.
“I request those who called the 48-hour hartal to withdraw it considering the sufferings of holidaymakers,” he told reporters after his visit to Mohakhali Bus Terminal in the capital in the morning.
Hours after the High Court declared illegal its registration as a political party, Jamaat-e-Islami on Thursday called a 48-hour countrywide hartal for August 12 and 13.
The Communications Minister visited the bus terminal to see how tickets were being sold as allegations have it that some bus tickets were going to the black market ahead of the Eid.
Criticising those who call frequent hartals, he said these days hartal has become useless. “One day people will come down on the streets in protest against it. We’ll also ply our vehicles.”
About the city’s vexing traffic congestions, Quader said: “Traffic congestion is no longer a problem of Dhaka city, it is also there in major cities of the world like New York. On completion of metro-rail and flyover projects, I hope the traffic jams will ease in the city.”
Source: UNB Connect
