Commuters suffer as bus strike resumes in Habiganj

Bus services from Habiganj remained suspended again as the Habiganj Motor Owners Association enforced an indefinite strike from this morning, demanding a resolution to recent incidents involving alleged assault on transport workers and vandalism on the Moulvibazar route.

The suspension of services on all routes from Habiganj caused severe suffering for passengers, including workers, students and long-distance travellers.

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According to sources at the association, several buses travelling from Habiganj were stopped in the Sherpur area of Moulvibazar on May 10, where transport workers were allegedly assaulted and vehicles vandalised.

Following the incident, multiple rounds of meetings were held involving the Sylhet divisional commissioner and the Habiganj district administration. However, no effective solution has yet been reached, said Habiganj Motor Owners Association Member Secretary Abu Moin Chowdhury Sohel.

As part of the strike, bus services on all internal and inter-district routes, including Habiganj-Sylhet and Habiganj-Moulvibazar-Sylhet, remained suspended from this morning.

Passengers were seen waiting for hours at different bus terminals, while many were forced to use alternative modes of transport at higher fares.

“I came to the Habiganj bus terminal in the morning to travel to Sylhet for office work, but found that no buses were operating. Later, I had to hire a CNG-run auto-rickshaw at an extra cost to reach my destination,” said Md Rakib Hasan, an employee of a private company.

Another passenger, college student Nusrat Jahan, said, “I had an examination today. I waited at the bus stand for a long time in the morning, but no vehicles were available. Later, a few of us hired a microbus together to reach our destination. It caused a lot of trouble and uncertainty for us.”

Habiganj Motor Owners Association Member Secretary Sohel said, “We have been compelled to suspend bus services as no proper solution has been reached. If the issue is not resolved by today, tougher programmes may be announced.”

Earlier, the association enforced an indefinite strike on May 12 and staged a blockade on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway yesterday over the same demand. Both programmes were later withdrawn following assurances from the administration.