Barishal transport strike Nov 4-5

Staff Reporter :
Like Mymensingh and Khulna, the transport owners in Barishal division have called a two-day transport strike on November 4-5 during the BNP’s rally, demanding removal of three-wheelers and illegal vehicles from the highway by November 3. When such strike is imposed, the common people including patients, job seekers, office-goers and students of the areas will suffer the worst.
The announcement came at a time on Wednesday when BNP has a scheduled programme to hold its fourth grand rally in the Barishal city on November 5.
However, such suspension of transport and launch services is not new for BNP as same situation was created in their previous grand rallies in Mymensingh and Khulna. BNP leaders and workers in thousands participated in the rallies ignoring all kinds of obstructions imposed by the transport owners.
The opposition said that the government has been taking various strategies to deter their party worker and general people from participating in their rallies.
Before the Barishal rally, BNP has a rally in Rangpur city on October 29. BNP said they have information that such transport strikes would also be imposed there under different excuses ahead of their rallies.
The ruling Awami League, however, denies BNP’s allegation that they have no hands in the transport strikes. Barishal Bus Owners Group, in a letter on Wednesday said that they would observe a strike on November 4 and 5 if three-wheelers, Nasimon-Karimon and other illegal vehicles are not kept from the highway by November 3.
The bus services both local and long-distance from Nathullabad Central Bus Terminal would be off on the two days.
Golam Mashrek Bablu, president of Barishal District Bus Owners Group, said that a memorandum demanding the prohibition of three-wheelers on the highway had already been handed to the local administration to take necessary steps.
“If the demands are not met by November 3, the bus services of six districts of Barishal division will be stopped on 4 and 5 November,” he added.
However, he denied any connection between bus strike and BNP’s divisional rally on November 5.
BNP leaders alleged that the government was forcing bus owners to strike to disrupt the rally.
The Opposition also apprehended that as Barishal is a riverine zone connecting the northern parts of the country to the south with water vessels, the launch owners would likely to halt its operations under lame excuses of various demands as it happened in Khulna and Mymensingh.
Most of the opposition political parties think that such steps of suspending the transport and water vessels ahead of political programme was nothing but ‘a mockery’ and a violation of the constitutional right to hold public rally peacefully.