BNP rally in Faridpur today amid transport strike

Staff Reporter :
Ahead of the BNP rally in Faridpur on Saturday, the transport strike in the district suspended the bus services with other neighbouring districts, which caused immense sufferings to the commuters of those areas.
BNP said that they were going to hold its sixth grand rally in Faridpur on Saturday to press home their various demands and resolution.
But they say that they had been facing various obstructions including a transport strike and police search in their residences to arrest our leaders and workers.
The Faridpur strike has suspended bus link with six districts of the Barishal division as the buses have to cross Bhanga intersection to reach Dhaka.
When the state-owned BRTC bus services were the only means to move to different destinations, it was also stopped in Faridpur since Friday morning.
The decision of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) authority had irked the passengers as people thought that it was the strike of the Faridpur Bus Owners Workers Oikya Parishad only, demanding the ban on the plying of three-wheelers on highways.
Assistant Director of Faridpur BRTC Bus Transport Mamun Hasan said that BRTC bus services would remain suspended from Faridpur on Friday and Saturday, but he did not clear the cause of the suspension.
“We run buses on lease from the government. The workers are involved with the bus. We can’t ignore their demands. They must be heard,” he added.
The Oikya Parishad called a 38-hour transport strike on all routes in the district from 6 am Friday to 8pm Saturday. Due to the strike, no bus left the district bus
terminals from Barishal, Patuakhali, Jhalkathi, Barguna and Pirojpur for Dhaka. As a result the long route bus service came to a standstill, causing much suffering of the people.
“As our buses have to use the Bhanga intersection in Faridpur to go to Dhaka, they will not allow our buses that route. So the bus services with Dhaka have been suspended in all districts of the division,” President of Barishal Bus Owners Association Golam Mashreq said.
As a result the bus passengers of Barishal division suffered the worst, as the suspension of the services was not pre-announced. Many passengers who wanted to go to Dhaka had to return home after being disappointed when they found that no bus was leaving Barishal Central Bus Terminal on Friday morning.
However, the bus services in the local routes in Barishal division were normal.
“The bus services between Dhaka and other districts of Barishal will remain suspended due to the Faridpur strike for Friday and Saturday,” Shakhawat Hossain, driver of BNF Paribahan said.
Passengers were seen waiting at the bus stand for hours in Faridpur bus stand. Many had to walk to their destinations carrying luggage after not getting on any bus. However, the three-wheelers were dominating the streets and passengers were using them at high fare.
The bus services have not only affected the passengers, the drivers and workers were also affected as they were without work and pay.
Meanwhile, BNP said that such a strike had been called with the directive of the government to prevent their leaders and workers from joining the Faridpur rally.
“The reason for suspending the movement of the BRTC bus for two days along with the private buses is illogical and its intent is to prevent our meeting,” BNP Organising Secretary Shama Obaid, who is also the coordinator for the political party’s Faridpur divisional rally, said.
“But it cannot prevent our mass gathering. When people face obstacles, they become more forceful to break it. But passengers will have to face problems and extreme suffering due to the strikes,” she added.
Meanwhile, many BNP leaders and workers had already reached Faridpur from the neighbouring districts.
“Two days ago police went to the residences of our leaders and told them not to join the rally. But we did not face an obstruction from Gopalganj to reach Faridpur,” Gopalganj district BNP President Sikder Shahiduzzaman said.
He also said that many leaders and activists had reached Faridpur in different ways to avert the fear of arrest. “Many of our leaders and workers faced obstructions on their way by law enforcers,” he added.
“Police searched the houses of many leaders and workers in Kalukhali and Baliakandi Upazilas. But police did not find them as many of them reached the venue much earlier,” former General Secretary of Faridpur District BNP Harun Or Rashid said.
“All buses have been stopped in Rajbari. BNP leaders and activists were reaching the venue in different ways. But on the way, they faced trouble from law enforces. Cases were filed against the motorbikes under different excuses. Nosimon and Korimon were stopped,” he added.
Meanwhile, the entire Faridpur town is now reverberating with various slogans and the leaders and workers were excited with enthusiasm to topple the government with mass movement.
They said that BNP activists were reaching the venue with dry foods, while others were marching different streets and distributing leaflets inviting people to join the rally.