Transport Strike to save Murderer Jamir Hossain, Killer of Tareque Masud & Mishuk Munier.

The Bus Owners' and Workers' Unity Council has declared that they will enforce a transport strike on 41 routes of the North Western region of the country inorder to release the killer driver Jamir Hossain, who is alleged for murdering Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier. Khulna Transport Workers Unity Council general secretary Sahadat Hossain Mridha told on Thursday, "Although bus movement has been suspended on 18 routes of Khulna, we will sit with the Jessore workers union at noon to take the final decision."

Besides this, the strike is continuing on the 21 routes of the Jessore district, he added. Earlier on Wednesday, the association called an indefinite bus strike in 21 southwestern districts, demanding release of the driver who was allegedly responsible for the deaths of filmmaker Tareque masud and television personality Mishuk Munier.

On the same evening, transport workers federation chief Shahjahan Khan said that the indefinite bus strike was withdrawn within six hours of its start as the government had given its assurance that it would accept all the demands. Transport workers federation secretary general Khandakar Enayat Ullah also supported Khan's speech. However, Bus Owners' and Workers' Unity Council convener S M Sah Alam refuted the announcement on withdrawal of the strike.

On Aug 30, a head-on collision between a microbus, carrying Tareque and Mishuk, and a bus of Deluxe Paribahan from Chuadanga killed five people. Tareque and Mishuk were among the dead. Later, Police arrested bus driver Jamir Hossain from Chuadanga who is now in Manikganj jail.

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.