Commuters in the capital city found it difficult, an often impossible to go places as there were fewer buses and other public transports on the streets on Saturday on the eve of a 30-hour hartal called by 12 Islamic political parties.
Fear of pre-hartal violence as well as requisition by the police prompted many owners to keep their buses off
the streets, said transport workers.
Even then it was a Saturday with unprecedented traffic congestion at different city points with thousands of people coming out in cars.
People said that they just wanted the outing before another shut down.
A common picture was of commuters swelling queues waiting, in vain, for buses or min buses at busy city points like Paltan, Malibagh, Gulistan, Maghbazaar, Rampura, Dhanmandi, Shabagh,Farmgate, Uttara,
Jatrabari and Mirpur throughout the day as only a limited number of these vehicles plied since the morning.
'I had to wait for 40 minutes to get a bus at Shewrapara to go to Karwan Bazaar in the morning,' Bidhan Chandra told New Age.
He said it was absolutely unusual for so many people to wait for a bus at the stoppage on a Saturday, a weekly holiday.
Hasib Al Sarker, who lives at Uttara, said that he was among hundreds of others who awaited a bus for 30 minutes at Abdullahpur to get a bus to go Mahakhali.
He said that he had to force his way into a bus which was full and kept the door shut.
He said unless he forced his way there was no way for him to go to his office at all.
The buses were fewer than usual and all were full, he said.
Transport workers and the city police gave contradictory opinions with regard to requisition of vehicles creating the transport crisis.
Mohammad Hasem, who works at the ticketing counter of Prabhati Banasree Transport at Maghbazaar Rail Gate told New Age that the owners kept the buses off the road fearing violence ahead of hartal and also due to the police requisitioning vehicles.
The city's additional deputy police commissioner traffic police Mohammad Zayedul Alam, however, contradicted him and blamed the transport crisis only to hartal.
He refuted the allegation that wholesale requisition of buses by the police led to the crisis.
'We spoke to the owners' associations before requisitioning buses,' he said.
Syed Rzaul Karim senior vice-president of the Association of Bus Owners said the owners always fear the police for requisition of buses without making any payments.
Besides, he said, 'During hartals we prefer to keep the buses off the road out of fear of violence. '
Arman Mollah said he waited for long, in vain, for a bus at Shatrasta crossing at Tejgaon for going to airport.
Ticket sellers of KTL Transport, Winner and Anik Transports at Karwan Bazaar said that fear of requisition and violence keep the buses off the road.
Commuters at the ticketing counters of Winner Transport and Anik Transport at Karwan Bazaar said they had been awaiting a bus for long but in vain.
Gabtoli, Saidabad, Tongi and other entry and exits points to the capital city witnessed unprecedented traffic congestion throughout the day due to heavy rush of intercity buses.
The congestion aggravated in the evening with thousands of people waiting to enter or leave the city ahead of the 30-hour countrywide shut down.
Many of them had remained stranded in the city or outside due the previous shut down.
An official said that it took him eight hours to return to the capital city from Tangail, usually two and half hours' drive.
Source : New Age
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