Raj Abrar: Road access to Gaibandha remained suspended for the rest of the country as transport workers in the district enforced an indefinite strike yesterday, protesting the proposed Road Transport Act-2018.
The workers have been demanding scrapping the bill, which has the provision of death sentence for drivers if they deliberately kill while driving. The bill also proposes five years’ imprisonment for causing death through reckless driving, according to a report by The Daily Star.
The strike, organized by Gaibandha Motor Workers’ Union, began from 6:00am, said Mokbul Hossain, Chairman of Gaibandha Motor Owners’ Association.
Commuters have reportedly been suffering from the lack of any intercity bus entering or leaving the district.
The highly-anticipated Road Transport Act-2018 was placed in parliament on September 13, after mass student protests in August criticizing the lenient nature of the punishment over deaths caused by reckless driving.