Bus services on long-distance routes resumed in Chapainawabganj on Saturday after a day-long suspension triggered by a dispute between two transport workers’ groups over toll collection.
Officials of the Motor Workers’ Union confirmed that services restarted in the morning, bringing relief to stranded passengers.
The disruption began on Friday when the District Truck, Tank Lorry and Covered Van Workers’ Union declared a work stoppage, demanding an end to alleged illegal toll collection practices.
The action halted inter-district and inter-upazila bus operations, causing widespread passenger suffering.
Leaders from both the Truck Workers’ Union and the Motor Workers’ Union have accused each other of collecting tolls unlawfully from buses, a dispute that has persisted for a long time and escalated recently.
One group argued that no organisation has authority to collect tolls on roads outside designated terminals, while the other maintained that it collects fees in line with regulations and accused its rival of illegal collection.
Police attempted to mediate between the conflicting parties but failed to reach a resolution. Later at midnight, a fresh round of talks was held involving both sides under the initiative of Jamaat leader and former lawmaker Latifur Rahman.
Following the discussions, both groups agreed to withdraw the strike in consideration of public inconvenience.
By Saturday morning, bus operations resumed across district terminals, while ticket counters for Dhaka-bound services were also reopened.
A ticket master on the Sonamasjid–Rajshahi route, Abdul Rahman Rubel, said the first bus left Sonamasjid for Rajshahi at around 7am.
Motor Workers’ Union General Secretary Abdul Rauf Julmat said the decision to suspend the strike was taken after a joint meeting mediated by Latifur Rahman, prioritising public hardship. He added that a second round of talks would be held later to resolve the toll collection dispute.
However, District Truck, Tank Lorry and Covered Van Workers’ Union President Saidur Rahman could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.
