Transport owners and workers under the banner of Rajshahi Zia Motor Malik-Sramik Union Parishad enforced an indefinite strike in Rajshahi district on Sunday demanding a ban on plying of unauthorised vehicles like Karimon, Nosimon and Bhotbhoti on the roads and highways of the region.    Earlier on Saturday afternoon, the  strikers staged a demonstration and held a rally in Sheroil bus terminal area to drum up support for the programme. They also threatened the government to go for a tougher programme if their demand was not met. They announced the indefinite strike on Saturday afternoon. “We gave several ultimatums earlier, but the authorities did not pay heed to our demand,” Mahtab Hossain, general secretary of Rajshahi District Bus Owners’ Association, said. Meanwhile, in addition to the prevailing transport crisis, there was no scheduled train from the district to Dhaka yesterday afternoon.
There was a huge rush of passengers at Rajshahi railway station and at the BRTC counters of the city. Several hundred passengers were seen to throng the railway station and at BRTC counters to manage a ticket but failing to get the same, most of them returned disappointed or traveled on the rooftops of the trains.
Many of the inter district passengers were also seen to travel on CNG-run three-wheelers and ‘easy-bikes’ at an exorbitant fare.
Humaira Jannat, a passenger at the bus stand, said she was scheduled to sit for admission test of Islamic University in Kushtia on Monday.
However; she would not be able to sit for the examination if she started for Kushtia tomorrow (Monday) morning.
“If I can’t manage to reach there today, I will miss the test,” Jannat added.
Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury, deputy commissioner of Rajshahi, said to resolve the crisis, they fixed a meeting with transport owners and  leaders at Circuit House on Sunday evening.