Bus transport workers and owners have called in a strike on the Dhaka-Chattogram route from morning to evening on Monday to protest the intense traffic congestion all over the highway.
The Bus Owners Association and the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Union jointly called the strike to demand a resolution to the heavy congestion at Feni and Daudkandi and the suffering of travellers, Inter-District Bus Owners Association General Secretary Kafil Uddin briefed on Sunday.
Construction work on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway rail overpass at Feni’s Mohipal is the prime reason for the traffic congestion in the area for a few days. The bottleneck has extended from Mohipal to Cumilla and Chattogram in the past couple of days.
The five-to-six hour trip on the Dhaka-Chattogram route is not taking anywhere from 15 to 17 hours. Passengers upon being stranded have cancelled their trips and turned back in the face of such heavy congestion.
Travellers are facing increased difficulties and transport owners are facing financial difficulties, said transport owner leader Kafil.
“If this congestion continues it is likely to get even worse during Ramadan and Eid.”
Transport workers and owners have said that if the situation is not resolved soon, they will halt all passenger vehicle service between 12 pm and 3 pm from Tuesday, reports bdnews24.
But bus service on other routes will continue according to the regular schedule, said Kafil.
