Transport workers call off strike in Mymensingh, four districts after talks

Transport workers have withdrawn their strike in five districts of Mymensingh Division, calling in protest against the arrest of a worker accused of harassing a July Uprising protester and the suspension of 16 United Service buses.

As a result, buses will resume operations from Monday morning.

On Sunday night, Mymensingh District Motor Owners’ Association chief Alomgir Mahmud Alom said the strike was withdrawn “considering public suffering”.

Al Nur Ayas, coordinator of the Martyrs and Injured Cell of the Students Against Discrimination in the division, said: “We had already urged them to resume bus services, considering people’s suffering. It is good that they have withdrawn the strike.”

The anti-discrimination protesters, however, had demanded the suspension of 16 buses of the United Service, owned by Aminul Haque Shamim, vice-president of the Awami League’s district unit and a suspect linked to the murder of July Uprising martyr Shahid Sagar. But the owners have decided to keep those buses running.

When asked, Ayas said: “Those buses are not supposed to operate. If our demand is not met, we will take further action.”

Bus operations on the Dhaka–Mymensingh route had remained suspended since Saturday afternoon and through Sunday morning due to the strike.

From Sunday morning, transport workers in Mymensingh, Netrakona, Sherpur, Jamalpur, and parts of Kishoreganj enforced the strike. As buses from four of those districts must pass through Mymensingh to reach Dhaka, no long-distance buses left from those areas either.

The disruption did not affect Dhaka-bound passengers as much as it affected those travelling between the divisional city of Mymensingh and the neighbouring districts.

Passengers were forced to rely on alternative transport, and many had to change vehicles multiple times to reach their destinations.

The unrest began on Friday night at Maskanda Terminal in Mymensingh city, when a verbal altercation broke out between July Uprising protester Abu Raihan and bus counter staff Arun Biswas of United Service.

In protest, leaders of the Students Against Discrimination staged a sit-in before the bus counter, after which transport worker Biswas was arrested.

In response, transport workers blocked the area near the bus stands, halting operations.

Following a meeting on Saturday afternoon, both sides initially softened their positions. The transport workers, however, rejected calls to arrest Aminul Haque Shamim or suspend operations of his 16 United Service buses, instead announcing the transport strike.