DHAKA - MYMENSINGH Highway is Most NEGLECTED Highway.

The BUS owners stopped bus operations on 12 routes along the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway demanding repair of the road to make it fit for running the vehicles. A strike by the bus operators spelled indescribable woes for Dhaka-bound commuters from Gazipur and Mymensingh districts on Thursday. Osman Ali, a leader of Mohakhali Bus Terminal Transport Owners' Association, told bdnews24.com that they would keep their vehicles off the road until it is repaired.

Around 300 buses run on the highway to carry about 25,000 passengers daily On Thursday, many passengers had to walk from Boardbazar in Gazipur to Chandona Chourasta as some inter-district buses were running from there. Many students from Gazipur did not attend classes because of the transport problem. Mohakhali Bus Terminal Transport Owners' Association secretary Mohammad Abul Kalam told bdnews24.com that the highway from Gazipur to Mymensingh is unfit for driving. "Recently 15-16 of our buses developed engines problems due to water-logged road. We had to spend Tk 70-75 thousand to repair each of them," he said.

"That's why we stopped operating buses bound for Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Netrokona and some northern districts," Kalam said. General secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Association (Gazipur branch) Kamrul Ahsan Russell said they had submitted a memorandum to the communications minister seeking solutions to the problem, but no steps have been taken yet. Executive engineer of Gazipur Roads and Highways Department Mohammad Fazle Rabbi blamed unplanned establishment of industries and lack of drainage system along the highway for its rundown condition. "Some of the dyeing and washing factories are discharging waste through drains towards the roadside creating water-logging," he said.

The grater Mymensingh region is always treated as ignored area to the Government. No Government take proper step to develop this region. The result is the FOUR day strike running by the BUS Owners of grater Mymensingh locality due to demand for repairing the highway.