A two-day transport strike has cut Barishal off from the rest of the country ahead of BNP’s divisional rally in the city to be held on Saturday.
The strike has ostensibly been called to demand that illegal vehicles be barred from highways and a number of other demands, according to bdnews24.com. The strike has resulted in suffering for the general public.
Several people have expressed their anger and frustration at the situation.
Despite the obstacles to transport, large numbers of BNP activists have gathered at the city’s Bangabandhu Udyan for the party’s mass rally for the division. Most of them came to the area on Thursday night.
The activists were cooking and making arrangements for lunch on Friday afternoon. Activists from different districts and upazilas in the division were leading protest marches to the venue.
However, the government holiday and the unannounced transport strike left the rest of the city largely empty. In the Notun Bazar area, bdnews24.com spoke to three-wheeler driver Khokon.
“Usually I earn about Tk 2,000 over two days,” said Khokon, a three-wheeler driver who condemned the strike. “Are the people of Bangladesh so stupid that they don’t understand why the strike has been called?”
The strike has resulted in a suspension of launch, bus, microbus and three-wheeler services in the area. Only a few rickshaws and motorcycles were on the road on Friday afternoon. Ferry crossings are closed as well. Police have been deployed at every intersection.
All the counters at the Barishal Central Bus Terminal were shut on Friday morning and the buses were parked in rows. The area, usually abuzz with the calls of three-wheeler drivers offering rides, was unusually quiet.
Bus terminal worker leaders, on condition of anonymity, said that the bus owners announced a suspension of services on long-haul and intra-district routes on Friday and Saturday to push for a five-point list of demands. The Nothullabad Bus Terminal, from which buses travel on routes all across the country, was closed due to the strike.
“No illegal vehicles can travel on the highway, according to an order from the High Court,” said Farid Hossain, general secretary of the Barishal District Road Transport Workers Union. “But that order is being violated and illegal vehicles are running anyway. We sent petitions to all the relevant government agencies, but have yet to receive a response, and so buses and microbuses from Nothullabad are not running.”
Workers say that bus service on 18 of the 112 routes from the Rupatoli Bus Terminal in Barishal city has been halted to press for the same demands. Workers were seen lazing about at the terminal with little to do.
Since Friday morning, launch service has been closed at the Barishal River Port, according to Inspector Kabir Hossain of the BIWTA Barishal Department of River Safety and Traffic Management.
“Thirty launches on 11 routes, including Barishal to Bhola, have been suspended to protest an attack on a launch.”
Neither the launch owners' association, nor the launch workers' association was willing to comment on the suspension of services.
Speedboat service on the Barishal-Bhola and the Sadar Upazila Taltoli Bazar-Patarhat routes and the ferry crossings at the city’s Kirthankhola River’s Beltola, Chorkaua and Chandmari piers were also closed.
Firoz had come to the Chandmari pier with his wife and child before he heard that the ferry crossing was closed.
“Everything is shutting down across the country,” he said. “Now I see that ferry service is closed too. If I say anything, I’ll just get into trouble.”
No ferries could be seen at the Chorkaua ferry pier on the Kirtankhola River, one of the busiest piers in the country. Three people stuck at the pier eventually paid a small fishing boat Tk 50 to make the crossing even though the usual ferry fare is Tk 5.
“I came to give a job recruitment exam,” said Lima, one of the passengers. “But the exam was cancelled. What do I do? I’m having to overpay to get home however I can.”