Death of worker triggers work abstention at Hili
Export-import through Hili Land Port came to a halt yesterday afternoon as workers went on the rampage following death of a fellow worker under the wheels of a truck inside the port.
The incident occurred when the workers were unloading goods from an Indian truck at around 1:30pm. Suddenly, a Bangladeshi truck ploughed through the area, killing a worker named Naushad on the spot and injuring two others.
Protesting the death of Naushad, workers stopped loading and unloading of goods, took out a procession inside the port and vandalised three trucks. They also and assaulted several staff of Panama Hili Port Link Ltd, a private port operator at Hili land port under Hakimpur upazila of the district.
Being informed, police and members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
The injured workers were admitted to Hakimpur Upazila Health Complex and but later shifted to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital as their condition deteriorated. Names of the injured workers could not be known as of 6:00pm yesterday.
The angry workers alleged that the accident occurred when a helper was parking the truck inside the port. They demanded immediate arrest of the trucker and his helper who managed to fled the port areas soon after the accident.
Md Nuru Sardar, a leader of the port workers, claimed that two workers were killed by trucks inside the port in the last eight months. “We had earlier urged the truck owners not to engage truck helpers in driving the vehicles inside the port area, but to no effect.
Nuru Sardar demanded that the port authority impose a ban on driving trucks inside the port by the helpers. Otherwise, he said the workers will continue work abstention until the demand is met.
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