Transport owners to run vehicles in Dhaka during Hefazat hartal

Depending on the availability of passengers, vehicles will also run on inter-district routes, said owners

Buses and minibuses would continue plying on Dhaka city and suburbs and inter-district routes during the strike called by Hefazat-e-Islam on Sunday, said Khandaker Enayet Ullah, general secretary of the Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association.

He made the statement in a press release sent to the media on Saturday.

The notification, signed by Samdani Khandaker, office secretary of the association, said an emergency meeting was held at the office of the Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association at 12pm on Saturday, to discuss the issue of keeping buses running during the strike called by Hifazat-e-Islam. 

Transport leaders at the meeting said, they are transport businessmen. If they call a strike, they will lose business. 

Attempts to create misery for city dwellers by calling strikes in this way are not justifiable in any way. So, they announced that bus and minibus services should remain uninterrupted on all routes in Dhaka city and suburbs.

According to the decision of the meeting, buses and minibuses will run in Dhaka city and suburban routes on the day of the strike. Depending on the availability of passengers, vehicles will also run on inter-district routes.

During the meeting, they requested concerned police administration to strengthen security at important places of the city so that there would be no obstruction to the movement of vehicles on the day of the strike.

The meeting was chaired by Khandaker Enayet Ullah, general secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association. 

Leaders of Fulbaria Bus Terminal Owners' Association, Sayedabad Inter-District and City Bus Terminal Owners' Association and Mohakhali Bus Terminal Road Transport Owners' Association were also present.

Hefazat-e-Islam announced the program on Friday in protest of the police brutality on Hefazat-e-Islam members in Dhaka, Chittagong's Hathazari and other places in the country where they were protesting the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.