Train Strike in Bangladesh Disrupts Transportation and Passenger Travel
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) -- Trains were canceled across Bangladesh on Tuesday as railway staff went on strike for higher pensions and other benefits, affecting tens of thousands of passengers and freight transport.
Saidur Rahman, acting president of the Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers Union, stated that the strike was initiated after a meeting with the interim government, led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, failed to yield an agreement late Monday.
Rahman mentioned that the strike would continue indefinitely if the government does not accept their demands.
The state-run railway system carries approximately 65 million passengers annually in the densely populated nation of 170 million people. It employs about 25,000 individuals and operates a network of over 36,000 kilometres (22,000 miles).
The main Kamlapur Railway Station in the capital, Dhaka, was crowded with hundreds of disappointed passengers who were unaware of the strike. Many waited for hours before leaving the station.
As the country's railway adviser visited, passengers voiced their complaints.
Fouzul Kabir Khan, the railway affairs adviser, expressed that such a nationwide strike was "regrettable" and urged the protesters to end it. He indicated that the "doors for discussion" were open to resolve the standoff.
Shahadat Hossain, a station manager in Dhaka, reported that at least 10 trains were scheduled to depart from the station on Tuesday morning. Authorities provided buses as alternatives, but they were insufficient to meet demand.
Mohammed Nadim was stranded at Kamlapur Railway Station after travelling hundreds of kilometres overnight to reach Dhaka for his vacation in the southern coastal district of Cox's Bazar. "I arrived at 5:30 a.m. from outside Dhaka. But after about an hour, I learned that my train would not run. I am now stranded here for hours without any hope. The station officials mentioned that my ticket would be reimbursed, but I am unsure when," he told The Associated Press at the scene.
He declined to travel by a bus arranged by authorities as an alternative. "It's too far. I came here to travel by train. I don't want to travel this far by an air-conditioned bus, especially now that they are offering me a bus that has no air conditioning," he remarked.
Dhaka-based Jamuna TV station reported that railway workers protested in Chattogram, the country's second largest city. This southeastern city hosts the largest seaport in the country, and the significant garment industry depends on trains for transporting goods for export. The industry generates approximately $38 billion a year from exports, mainly to the United States and the European Union.
In the northwestern region of Rajshahi, distressed passengers vandalised station furniture and assaulted staff, according to Jamuna TV.
The Yunus-led interim government has been in power since August, following the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's exodus to India amid a student-led uprising, marking the end of her 15-year rule. The interim administration is striving to restore order in light of reports from global lending agencies, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, indicating slowed economic growth.
