Workers warn of movement if transports do not resume on 5 May

Transport owners and workers have threatened a tough movement if the government does not resume public transports on 5 May.

They have also sought support from the government, saying they are facing a financial crisis due to the suspension of transports.

Leaders of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association and the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation say they have been demanding that public transports be resumed as everything else is operative.

They say they have not yet got any response from the government and have not been contacted to attend any meeting in this regard either.

Khondoker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of the transport owners association, told The Business Standard millions of transport workers were unemployed and were passing their days in hardship.

He said many transport owners had been unable to pay loan instalments due to business disruptions they had been facing since the outbreak of coronavirus in March last year. 

"Most of the owners took out bank loans to buy transports. They are now in a very difficult situation due to poor income. They are unable to pay loan instalments, which has become a huge financial burden for them. They cannot survive if transports do not resume on 5 May," he added.

Osman Ali, general secretary of the transport workers federation, said they would launch a strong movement if the government did not meet their demands.

"We also requested the government to launch a stimulus package and provide food and financial assistance to support transport owners and workers affected by Covid-19. We got no response yet," he said.

The federation says there are 70 lakh transport workers in the country and most of them are going through a severe financial crisis.

There are over 46 lakh registered vehicles, including buses, trucks, motorcycles, CNG-driven auto-rickshaws, microbuses, and minibuses, in the country, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority said.

Transport workers on Sunday demonstrated in Dhaka, Chattogram, and many other districts demanding resumption of public transports. They also demanded financial support, relief, and rice at Tk10 per kg to mitigate their hardship during the pandemic.

In the capital, transport workers protested at Mohakhali and Sayedabad bus terminals.

"We get paid based on the number of daily trips. We can hardly save money from our daily income. It is very painful for me if I miss even a single trip. I cannot work since 14 April. I do not know how I will bear my family expenses," Kamrul Hasan, a bus driver in Dhaka, said.

Sadikur Rahman Hiru, vice-president of the transport workers federation, said garment factories, shopping malls, kitchen markets, and offices were open despite the lockdown and it would be possible to run buses following strict health guidelines.

He said they would protest outside the deputy commissioners' offices in each district demanding transports be resumed.

Road Transport and Bridges Ministry sources said the government plans to resume transports before Eid but that depends on the coronavirus situation and recommendations of the Covid-19 national committee.

Obaidul Quader, road transport and bridges minister, also said on Saturday they were considering resuming transport services ahead of Eid.

He urged transport leaders and workers to be patient and not to launch any protest.

The government imposed a nationwide lockdown for a week from 5 April as Covid-19 cases were rising since late March, but public transports were allowed in city corporation areas from 7 April.

Health experts later suggested going for a strict lockdown from 14 April and the government stopped all kinds of transport operations, except for emergency services. The lockdown will be in effect till 5 May.

Moreover, experts are still against resuming public transports across the country as the pandemic situation is not under control yet.

Professor Nazrul Islam, former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and a noted virologist, told The Business Standard the ongoing lockdown had yielded good results.

He said people's movement would increase if public transports resumed and infections would spread again.

It will be harmful to resume transports before Eid, he added.