Commuters faced severe disruptions across southwestern Bangladesh as transport workers launched an indefinite strike on five key inter-district routes originating from Chuadanga. Beginning at six o’clock on Monday morning, the industrial action was called in response to a violent confrontation and alleged assaults on local bus personnel, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at terminals.
The roots of the dispute trace back to Sunday afternoon in the Fakirpara area of Damurhuda upazila, where a local dispute flared up between public bus workers and operators of battery-powered three-wheelers, locally known as easy-bikes and pakhi vans. According to local accounts, tensions escalated rapidly, resulting in an alleged attack on a transport worker. Enraged by the incident, three-wheeler drivers retaliated by setting up improvised barricades along major regional highways. They blocked traffic for nearly five hours, paralyzing movement until local administrative officials intervened and assured them that their grievances would be addressed.
However, the uneasy calm shattered late Sunday night when transport worker associations held an emergency meeting and voted to implement an indefinite strike. Consequently, all passenger bus services connecting Chuadanga to Kushtia, Jhenaidah, and Meherpur, alongside the regional routes linking Hasadah and Alamdanga, came to an immediate halt. By Monday morning, fleets of passenger buses sat idle in neat rows at the Chuadanga Inter-District Bus Terminal and the Doulatdiar bus stand.
Strike Impact and Route Overview
| Row | Aspect / Category | Details & Current Status | Associated Area / Officials |
| 1 | Strike Initiation | Commenced at 6:00 AM on Monday | Chuadanga District |
| 2 | Primary Trigger | Assaults on bus workers and highway blockades | Fakirpara, Damurhuda |
| 3 | Affected Route 1 | Chuadanga to Kushtia route completely suspended | Regional Highway |
| 4 | Affected Route 2 | Chuadanga to Jhenaidah passenger services halted | Inter-district network |
| 5 | Affected Route 3 | Chuadanga to Meherpur bus operations stopped | Western corridor |
| 6 | Affected Route 4 | Hasadah local transport route blocked | Local feeder route |
| 7 | Affected Route 5 | Alamdanga passenger bus services suspended | Local feeder route |
| 8 | Unaffected Services | Long-distance buses to Dhaka and other cities running | National highways |
| 9 | Alternative Transport | Surge in battery-powered easy-bikes and vans | City intersections and hubs |
| 10 | Union Stance | Threat of expanding strike across divisions if demands unmet | Transport Owners Association |
Despite the disruption on regional corridors, long-distance coach services connecting Chuadanga to major metropolitan hubs such as Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Khulna, Barishal, and Rajshahi remained operational. With traditional buses unavailable, commuters at key urban intersections including Academy More, Court More, and Borobazar were forced to rely on alternative transport, leading to a massive surge in the presence of easy-bikes and battery-driven vans operating on those same routes.
Abul Kalam Azad, General Secretary of the Chuadanga Inter-District Bus and Minibus Owners Group, strongly condemned the actions of the three-wheeler operators. He stated that the strike was a direct reaction to unwarranted attacks on transport personnel and unlawful highway blockades, emphasizing that the arbitrary dominance of battery-powered vehicles on high-speed roadways cannot be tolerated. During a joint meeting held at the district road transport owners’ association office, union leaders warned that if their demands regarding safety and route regulation are ignored, the work stoppage could escalate into a divisional strike, and eventually paralyse transport services nationwide.
