Stand-off over BRTC service in Sylhet

As on Wednesday, when BRTC buses were rolled out of the Jaintapur depot to take those back to the capital, several thousand people kept the depot under siege for three hours.

They put up road barricades, snatched and tore the official order for taking the four buses back to the capital from Jaintapur.

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Several thousand people came and laid a siege to the BRTC bus depot following announcements from mosques over loud speakers.

BRTC officials were compelled to take the buses back to the depot at about 5 PM.

Later, people from different areas of Jaintapur, Kanaighat and Gowainghat upazilas brought out a procession and held a protest rally at Jaintapur upazila headquarters.

Speakers at the rally threatened of an indefinite strike in the region if any further step is taken to withdraw BRTC service.

The rally was held at the Battala with Jaintapur upazila BNP secretary and former Union Parishad chairman Abdul Malik Manik in the chair. It was addressed by, among others, chairmen of different union parishads and leaders of different political parties.

They said the people of greater Sylhet will stop supply of tea, stone, sand, coal and minerals from this region if the service is withdrawn.