Rajshahi bus services resume after hours-long halt

Bus services from Rajshahi to Dhaka and other parts of the country resumed around noon today (5 September) following an intervention by Land Minister Mizanur Rahman Minu, who assured transport workers that the dispute over the detention of Dhaka-bound buses in Natore would be resolved.

Transport workers had halted bus operations in Rajshahi for nearly two and a half hours, causing significant inconvenience to passengers at bus terminals.

Earlier, around 8am, workers stopped four Dhaka-bound Desh Travels buses and three National Travels buses at a Natore counter. All seven buses had departed from Rajshahi.

Following the incident, workers also shut down the counter. 

The local administration later intervened and released the buses nearly three hours after they had been detained.

However, transport workers in Rajshahi subsequently halted all bus services, demanding a permanent solution to the dispute.

Mohammad Masud Rana, in charge of Desh Travels’ Rajshahi counter, said services resumed after Land Minister Mizanur Rahman Minu, who is the lawmaker for Rajshahi-2, assured workers that the issue would be resolved.

He urged the government to ensure that bus services to Dhaka are not suspended under any circumstances.

Nazrul Islam Helal, general secretary of the Rajshahi Bus Owners’ Association, said all inter-district and long-distance bus services from Rajshahi had resumed.

He said the government is taking steps to ensure passengers were not held hostage or harassed through the suspension of bus services.

“If there are any problems between bus owners and workers in Natore, we will resolve them through discussion at the table. We should not suspend bus services and harass passengers,” he said.