Bus owners block Dhaka-Sylhet highway, create traffic gridlock

The one-hour blockade created huge traffic congestion on the highway. Leaders and workers of a local bus owners' association blocked the road by strategically placing buses around Ashuganj roundabout from 12pm and 1pm. During the blockade, the protesters also staged a procession demanding removal of human hauliers from the highway. “Ziauddin Khandakar [Chairman of Charchartala Union Parishad in Ashuganj] and his cohorts are running leguna service on the highway, which is illegal,” said Enayet Ullah Emon, organising secretary of Brahmanbaria District Bus Owners-Workers' Oikkya Parishad. [caption id="attachment_41474" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Bus owners' blockage on Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Ashuganj, Brahmanbaria creates a huge tailback of highway vehicles on December 22, 2016 Photo: Dhaka Tribune[/caption] “It is also dangerous to drive human hauliers on a highway. They disrupt movement of buses; there have been several accidents already,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. Enayet said the bus owners had notified the local administration about the leguna service several times, but the human hauliers are still running on the highway. “We had no other option but to stage this protest,” he added. The protesters withdrew the blockade when police went to the spot and assured them of taking legal actions against those responsible for the leguna service. “There is a long-standing dispute between the leguna owners and the local bus owners here,” said Muhammad Selim Uddin, OC of Ashuganj police station. “We are taking necessary actions in this regard.”