Chattogram transport owners call off strike

The strike by transport owners in Chattogram, in protest against the fuel price hike on Friday midnight, was called off on Saturday noon.

The Chattogram Metropolitan Transport Owners’ Group called off the strike considering the inconvenience faced by the commuters in the port city.

Earlier in the day, thousands of commuters faced inconvenience as buses remained off the roads in the port city of Chattogram.

The decision to embark on the strike was taken around midnight on Friday, Belayet Hossain, president of the Chattogram Metropolitan Transport Owners Group said.

The government on Friday raised the prices of diesel and kerosene to Tk 114 per litre and that of petrol to Tk 135, which is nearly 52% higher than the current rate.

As the fuel prices shot up, the owners of a number of petrol pumps also refrained from selling fuel, said Belayet. “We also decided to suspend the movement of buses in the port city.”

Last year, the government raised the prices of diesel and kerosine at the retail level by Tk 65 and Tk 80 a litre, respectively.