A nation-wide train stoppage started Tuesday after railway employees launched their open-ended strike to push for raised pension benefits combined with improved benefits packages. Thirty thousand-plus passengers faced delays and ultimate cancellation of their trips while essential economic freight services became disrupted.
The Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers Union under Saidur Rahman’s leadership launched an indefinite strike following failed late Monday negotiations with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus’s interim government. Rahman conferred that workers would persist their strike until their demands received satisfactory fulfillment.
The nationwide state railway system faces operational paralysis because the strike has blocked service to its 65 million passengers across 36,000 kilometers of rail routes each year. Hundreds of perplexed travelers stayed in the queues at Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka for numerous hours. Passengers refused the replacement bus options which thee government tried to offer because they did not find it acceptable. Traveling by train was his plan but bus service didn’t satisfy him.
Railway workers in Chattogram launched protests against supply chains that support garment exports worth $38 billion in the region. The station in Rajshahi faced station destruction by furious passengers alongside staff assaults according to Jamuna TV monitoring.
Since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left office in August the current tumultuous interim administration has managed a tumultuous period marked by economic turmoil along with political instability. As per Railway Adviser Shahadat Hossain the level of exasperation at Kamlapur station grew steadily.
The ongoing strike has created an unknown economic impact and everyday disruptions throughout Bangladesh while no temporary solution becomes visible.
