Commuters distressed by public transport scarcity

Syed Shemul Parvez :
All kinds of public transports, including the water vessels heading to the capital city, were stopped due to BNP’s mass rally on Saturday. The two vital highways including the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail have also taken on a vacant look. Apart from this, vehicle plying on the regional routes has also remained closed.
Besides, long-route bus services were stopped. No bus was leaving or entering Dhaka. Some CNG auto-rickshaws were running but asking two to three times of the usual fare.
 As a result, commuters were seen waiting on roads for long due to lack of public transport. Ordinary people including the various patients experienced enormous sufferings.
On the day, it was seen on the spot that city inhabitants were seen traveling to their destination on foot or by rickshaws paying high fare. This scene was seen at Gabtoli, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Shyamoli, Farmgate, Dhanmondi, ScienceLab, Shahbagh, Lalbagh, Press Club, Palton, Gulistan Motijheel and Jatrabari areas in the capital.
Abir Hoossain has been waiting for the bus since morning in the Azimpur araea. He said, ‘I left home at 8 am. It is now 10 o’clock. But no public transports here. CNGs are asking double fare. I don’t know what should I do now. ‘The same complaint was made by Rashel Ahmed, a passenger staying in Mirpur area. He said that the meeting is at Golap Bagh. But we are suffering in Mirpur. It’s not right. Government should think about the situation of common people. We are getting victims every time, he added.
Al Amin Hossain Dipu, inhabitant of city’s Shyamoli area said that my
uncle admitted at Dhaka Medical Hospital with severe dieses recently. I need to go there to look after him but here is acute scarcity of transport.
However, various rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and motorcycles were the only means of transports in the capital. Members of lower middle class were seen traveling on foot to different places due to high fares.
In this issue, Enayet Ullah, Secretary General of Bangladesh Road Transport Association, told the media that we have no decision to stop buses in Dhaka. The owners may drive cars less due to panic.
Meanwhile, around 34,000 police personnel were deployed by the DMP for security. Apart from this, the members of elite force RAB and Ansar are also on duty over there.
In this regards, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner (Crime and Ops) AKM Hafiz Akhter said that BNP has been given permission to hold a rally on some conditions. It is now the responsibility of BNP to conclude the rally peacefully. Hopefully, they will return after the program. Hafiz Akhter said this to reporters at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel after inspecting the central security system around the rally on Saturday (December 10).