Bus services on Kishoreganj-Mohakhali route suspended indefinitely over owners' dispute; passengers suffer as district administration calls talks

Bus services on the Kishoreganj-Mohakhali route have been suspended for an indefinite period because of a dispute among transport owners. No bus left the Gaital bus stand in the district town for this route from Sunday morning (25 October), leaving ordinary passengers in severe difficulty. To resolve the problem, the district administration has called the parties concerned to talks at 1pm on Sunday.

Passengers travelling from Kishoreganj to Dhaka and from Dhaka to Kishoreganj have both suffered from the sudden decision. Those travelling for urgent needs have been hit hardest, as many are struggling to reach their destinations with no alternative arrangements available.

Anisuzzaman Babul, convener of the Kishoreganj District Road Transport Owners' Association, said disputes over various issues have been going on for a long time with transport owners in the Mohakhali area. Among them, the supply of old buses and the closing of counters have made the problem worse.

Anisuzzaman Babul said the Mohakhali owners are not cooperating with the Kishoreganj owners in various ways. Through different people, they want to supply old vehicles, while Kishoreganj's other transport services run new vehicles. When the Kishoreganj side refused to accept old buses, the counters were shut down.

He added that the repeated closing of counters at every turn has put the Kishoreganj owners in difficulty. They want a solution to this problem — and, he said, bus services have been kept suspended in pursuit of that demand.

Anisuzzaman Babul said the matter has been reported to the higher authorities. The local member of parliament has also been informed, so attention is now on what initiative comes at the administrative level.

As part of that initiative, the district administration has called the parties concerned to talks at 1pm on Sunday. The meeting is expected to attempt a settlement of the dispute over old bus supplies and counter closures.

Until the outcome of the meeting is known, however, uncertainty remains over when bus services will resume. With the suspension declared indefinite, anxiety is growing among passengers — many people's regular travel to Dhaka depends on buses on this route.

With buses suddenly off the road, Dhaka-bound passengers were in trouble at the Gaital bus stand from Sunday morning. Those who needed to travel to Dhaka urgently suffered the most.

That ordinary passengers must pay the price for transport owners' internal disputes is not a new complaint, but passengers are the sufferers every time. This time is no exception; as the route is one of the main means for the district's people to travel to Dhaka, the impact of the shutdown has been widespread.

All eyes are now on the afternoon meeting. If it produces a settlement, the way will open for buses to resume on the route; if not, there are fears the indefinite shutdown will prolong passengers' suffering further.