The country’s road transport sector has suffered losses of over Tk 2,600 crore caused by the disruption in the services of around five lakh buses and goods carriers since October 28 amid the ongoing blockades and hartal, said transport owners.
Of this, owners of the goods carriers face the bigger loss of over Tk 1,500 crore.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association revealed the information on Sunday, while its leaders claimed that the sector has also suffered the loss of Tk 26.50 crore on a separate account due to the vandalism and arson attacks on buses and other carriers in the current political turmoil.
‘We will give the owners rational compensations for the damages to the buses caused by arson attacks recently like we did in 2014-15,’ home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told New Age on Sunday.
About the transport worker who died in arson attacks, he said that the government will also provide compensations to the family.
The 48-hour blockade, enforced by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and allies from Sunday, is the fourth one in a series in their movement since October 28, demanding resignation of the Awami League led government and holding of the next general election under a neutral government.
Transport owners association secretary general Khandakar Enayetullah said that between October 28 and till Sunday noon, total 102 buses were torched and 200 other buses were vandalised across the country with 90 per cent of the incidents took place in Dhaka.
Ten buses were torched in Dhaka city and elsewhere in Bangladesh between Saturday and Sunday evening, according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters.
On Sunday, at the association office in the capital, the leaders were seen holding a meeting after which Enayetullah said that they are having meetings every day during the ongoing blockades to discuss situation.
‘Till now, the amount of losses in the transport sector for not running around one lakh buses and around four lakh trucks across the country stands at Tk 2,643 crore,’ he said.
Another leader told New Age that the major part of the total loss is suffered by the owners of trucks and other goods carriers at over Tk 1,500 crore, while the rest of losses amounting to over Tk 1,000 crore are incurred by the bus owners.
Enayetullah also claimed that in Dhaka city nearly 90 per cent buses and on long routes around 40 per cent buses are running during the blockade.
His claim, however, has not apparently matched the reality as far less number of buses seemed to ply the city roads and long routes.
He further said that they believe those who called the blockade are also involved in torching and vandalising the vehicles, adding that in each of these incidents they filed police cases.
Owners are running very few luxury buses on long routes due to lack of passenger availability, the association secretary general said.
Former state minister and association president Moshiur Rahman Ranga said that they called a meeting on Saturday morning in which bus owners from across the country joined to decide the next course of action.
New Age
