Goods Transport Owners-Workers Go On 48-Hour Strike in Sylhet

A 48-hour strike, enforced by goods transport owners and workers, is underway in Sylhet on Monday, demanding the withdrawal of the ban on stone extraction as well as the reopening of stone quarries, reports UNB.

The strike, enforced by Sylhet Truck, Pickup, Covered Van Malik-Shramik Oikya Parishad, started at 6:00 am. The organisation’s organising secretary Sabbir Ahmed Foyez said, “Our strike is going on peacefully.”

They will go on an indefinite strike in the district if their demand is not met, he added.

A meeting of goods transport workers' leaders was held at the Deputy Commissioner's office on Sunday afternoon but no solution came from the meeting.

Although the district administration said that the leaders have assured them of withdrawal from the strike the workers’ leaders said no such decision has been taken.

On Sunday, the goods transport owners decided to go on strike, demanding the withdrawal of a ban on stone extraction and the reopening of stone quarries in the district’s Jaflong, Bichanakandi and Bholaganj.

According to the transport workers and owners, around 15 lakh people are directly involved in the stone business in Sylhet.

Transport workers said stones from the quarries had long been transported across the country since the country's independence but a government ban for the last five years has had an adverse impact on the freight transport owners.