Transport strike hits commuters, businesses in Ctg

Strike hits Barisal hard, petrol pumps running out of stock

Commuters and businessmen in the port city of Chittagong had a trying time yesterday because of an indefinite road transport strike enforced by the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers' Federation for the second consecutive day, with buses and trucks off the roads and petrol pumps running dry.
The strike also badly affected businesses in the country’s premier port city with import and export commodities piling up in the port yards and 16 private Inland Container Depots (ICD) in the absence of trucks.
Businessmen alleged incurring losses to the tune of over Tk. 1,000 crore over the past two days. Readymade garment exporters were particularly badly hit, as 70 per cent of their exports pass through the Chittagong port.
Chittagong Port Authority member (administration) Zafar Alam said no vehicles had entered the port for the loading and unloading of goods.
Huge quantities of imported commodities lay piled in the port yards, he said. The Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) sources said 6,320 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of export containers and 3,180 TEUs of imported containers were stuck inside 16 ICDs with transporters on strike.
Besides, 2,200 TEUs imported containers were also stuck in the Chittagong Port yards, said sources.
The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president, Mahbubul Alam, said that the estimated losses suffered by the Chittagong business sector over the past two days were around Tk. 1,000 crore. “We could not bring our goods to warehouses due to a shortage of trucks, trailers, and covered vans. The delivery of essential commodities from Khatunganj to different areas in the country has also stopped,” said the CCCI president.
He said sales at Khatunganj, one of Chittagong’s main wholesale commodity trading hubs, had remained suspended. The daily transaction volume alone in this major wholesale market was around Tk. 400 crore.
Commuters in Chittagong city faced untold suffering on Wednesday for the second consecutive day, as public transport vehicles such as buses, human haulers, CNG-run auto rickshaws, and tempos kept off the road.
Only rickshaws were seen moving on the city streets. Taking advantage of the situation, rickshaw pullers charged twice or thrice the usual fare. A large number of people was seen walking to their destination.
Transport workers armed with iron roads and bamboo sticks blocked roads in different parts of the city including Bahaddarhat, Muradpur, Amin Jute Mill, Oxygen, Bordighir Par, Agrabad, Cement Crossing, Nimtala, Alankar, Madarbari, Dewanhat and the GEC intersection.
Commuters alleged that transport workers stopped CNG-run auto rickshaws and forced their drivers and passengers to get down. The transport workers also assaulted drivers and passengers in many places in the city. But policemen on duty stood as mere spectators, alleged the commuters.
Barisal transport strike:
The bus strike in Barisal was extended to other transport vehicles from Wednesday morning, reports our Barisal staff reporter. Truck, mini-truck, minibus, microbus, and Mahindra owners joined the indefinite road transport strike called by agitating bus workers.
They held demonstrations in support of their demand at the Rahamatpur area of Barisal city. Over 1,500 goods-laden and passenger transport vehicles stood immobile at the Rahamatpur, Rupatoli and Nathullabad bus stands.
Sources said over 300 trucks, over 800 buses, minibuses, micro buses and Mahindra ply in Barisal daily. Most commuters were trying to hire three-wheelers at steep rates to get to their destinations.
Meanwhile, about 164 petrol pumps, dealers, and back-point agencies in and around Barisal were facing an acute fuel crisis due to the indefinite road transport strike that included oil tankers.
Sources said fuel stocks were already running dangerously low.
Hazi Noor Hosen Miron, owner of the Hazi filling station at Rupatoli area of the city, said his pump of 50,000-litre capacity had gone dry.
He said most pumps in the city used to get their usual supplies of oil from the depot by tankers and trucks. But they were not available now due to the strike.
Sources said three oil companies—Jamuna, Meghna, and Padma—supply diesel, petrol and kerosene to the 164 petrol pumps, dealers, and back-point agencies.
The three companies have a total capacity to stock 115 lakh litres of diesel, 23 lakh litres of kerosene and 5 lakh litres of petrol. Together they supply a total 7.5 lakh litres of fuel every day.
The petrol pumps, dealers, and back-point agencies under the three companies used to lift 6 lakh litres of diesel, 40,000 litres of petrol, and 40,000 litres of kerosene daily, but that has stopped since February 28.
The petrol pumps, dealers and back-point agencies have stocks enough to last just another 36 hours.
Depot manager of the Jamuna oil company, Syed Habibur Rahman, said the higher authorities had been informed about the situation. If the supplies did not resume soon enough, there would be a serious fuel crisis, he said.

Transport strike hits commuters, businesses in Ctg

Strike hits Barisal hard, petrol pumps running out of stock

Commuters and businessmen in the port city of Chittagong had a trying time yesterday because of an indefinite road transport strike enforced by the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation for the second consecutive day, with buses and trucks off the roads and petrol pumps running dry. The strike also badly affected businesses in the countrys premier port city with import and export commodities piling up in the port yards and 16 private Inland Container Depots (ICD) in the absence of trucks. Businessmen alleged incurring losses to the tune of over Tk. 1,000 crore over the past two days. Readymade garment exporters were particularly badly hit, as 70 per cent of their exports pass through the Chittagong port. Chittagong Port Authority member (administration) Zafar Alam said no vehicles had entered the port for the loading and unloading of goods. Huge quantities of imported commodities lay piled in the port yards, he said. The Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) sources said 6,320 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of export containers and 3,180 TEUs of imported containers were stuck inside 16 ICDs with transporters on strike. Besides, 2,200 TEUs imported containers were also stuck in the Chittagong Port yards, said sources. The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president, Mahbubul Alam, said that the estimated losses suffered by the Chittagong business sector over the past two days were around Tk. 1,000 crore. We could not bring our goods to warehouses due to a shortage of trucks, trailers, and covered vans. The delivery of essential commodities from Khatunganj to different areas in the country has also stopped, said the CCCI president. He said sales at Khatunganj, one of Chittagongs main wholesale commodity trading hubs, had remained suspended. The daily transaction volume alone in this major wholesale market was around Tk. 400 crore. Commuters in Chittagong city faced untold suffering on Wednesday for the second consecutive day, as public transport vehicles such as buses, human haulers, CNG-run auto rickshaws, and tempos kept off the road. Only rickshaws were seen moving on the city streets. Taking advantage of the situation, rickshaw pullers charged twice or thrice the usual fare. A large number of people was seen walking to their destination. Transport workers armed with iron roads and bamboo sticks blocked roads in different parts of the city including Bahaddarhat, Muradpur, Amin Jute Mill, Oxygen, Bordighir Par, Agrabad, Cement Crossing, Nimtala, Alankar, Madarbari, Dewanhat and the GEC intersection. Commuters alleged that transport workers stopped CNG-run auto rickshaws and forced their drivers and passengers to get down. The transport workers also assaulted drivers and passengers in many places in the city. But policemen on duty stood as mere spectators, alleged the commuters. Barisal transport strike: The bus strike in Barisal was extended to other transport vehicles from Wednesday morning, reports our Barisal staff reporter. Truck, mini-truck, minibus, microbus, and Mahindra owners joined the indefinite road transport strike called by agitating bus workers. They held demonstrations in support of their demand at the Rahamatpur area of Barisal city. Over 1,500 goods-laden and passenger transport vehicles stood immobile at the Rahamatpur, Rupatoli and Nathullabad bus stands. Sources said over 300 trucks, over 800 buses, minibuses, micro buses and Mahindra ply in Barisal daily. Most commuters were trying to hire three-wheelers at steep rates to get to their destinations. Meanwhile, about 164 petrol pumps, dealers, and back-point agencies in and around Barisal were facing an acute fuel crisis due to the indefinite road transport strike that included oil tankers. Sources said fuel stocks were already running dangerously low. Hazi Noor Hosen Miron, owner of the Hazi filling station at Rupatoli area of the city, said his pump of 50,000-litre capacity had gone dry. He said most pumps in the city used to get their usual supplies of oil from the depot by tankers and trucks. But they were not available now due to the strike. Sources said three oil companiesJamuna, Meghna, and Padmasupply diesel, petrol and kerosene to the 164 petrol pumps, dealers, and back-point agencies. The three companies have a total capacity to stock 115 lakh litres of diesel, 23 lakh litres of kerosene and 5 lakh litres of petrol. Together they supply a total 7.5 lakh litres of fuel every day. The petrol pumps, dealers, and back-point agencies under the three companies used to lift 6 lakh litres of diesel, 40,000 litres of petrol, and 40,000 litres of kerosene daily, but that has stopped since February 28. The petrol pumps, dealers and back-point agencies have stocks enough to last just another 36 hours. Depot manager of the Jamuna oil company, Syed Habibur Rahman, said the higher authorities had been informed about the situation. If the supplies did not resume soon enough, there would be a serious fuel crisis, he said.