Goods transportation in Khatunganj hampered as workers bar pickup movement

Following the murder of a worker by stabbing, workers in Khatunganj wholesale market have been blocking the movement of pickup trucks, disrupting the transportation of goods in Chattogram city and surrounding upazilas.

Mainly, the workers led by Md Jahangir Alam, president of Khatunganj Warehouse Owners' Welfare Association, are blocking the movement of pickups.

When asked about this, Md Jahangir Alam told The Business Standard, "The workers do not want to transport goods in pickups. We have asked the drivers to submit copies of driving licences to the association office, but they said they do not have licences. How can one drive a vehicle without a licence?

"Later we said they could give copies of their national identity card or any other identification document. If they do not even have that, they could write down their names and addresses and submit it to our office to drive vehicles in the vicinity."

Md Jahangir Alam alleged that pickup truck drivers have been committing misdeeds every day. The businessmen have asked for information about them so that they could give it to the police when it is necessary.

As drivers did not agree to the condition, transportation of goods by pickup or mini trucks in Khatunganj has remained halted.

Consumer goods are supplied all over the country from the Khatunganj wholesale market in Chattogram. Traders use big trucks to transport goods from the market to distant destinations, and pickup trucks for destinations inside the Chattogram division.

Traders in Khatunganj have been suffering heavy losses as transportation by pickup trucks remained halted.

Azizul Haque, owner of Haque Trading in Khatunganj, told The Business Standard, "We have suffered heavy losses in the last four days. Due to the suspension of movement of pickup trucks, we cannot sell goods to traders in Chattogram city and surrounding upazilas and districts. The traders there are buying products from Pahartali, Chaktai and other markets."

Md Sekander Hossain, owner of Ishaq Saudagar, said, "First, we have to carry the products outside the Khatunganj market to transport them by pickups to other places as they are barred from entering the area. It takes too much time and money, so buyers are moving to other markets."

Md Farooq, a pick-up van driver who regularly transports goods in the market, told TBS, "We will not make any comment about the situation. Discussions are going on to resolve the matter."

On 17 October morning, Md Masud, a worker in Khatunganj, had an altercation with the pickup truck driver named Russell Mia.

Following the incident, Russell and his accomplices allegedly attacked and stabbed Masud in the evening. The injured worker died on the same day while undergoing treatment in a hospital. The victim's son Babul filed a murder case regarding the incident.

After the attack on Masud, the workers declared a strike and stopped transporting goods. After police arrested two accused in the case last Thursday, the business in the country's key wholesale market became normal, but the workers barred movement of pickup trucks in the area.