Bus services on the Sylhet–Sunamganj route have been suspended as transport workers enforced an indefinite strike following a scuffle with students of Sunamganj Science and Technology University (SSTU) over fare disputes on Sunday.
Sources said several university students boarded a bus from Sunamganj town to their temporary campus in Shantiganj on Sunday. An argument over fare broke out between the students and transport workers, which eventually led to a physical altercation.
Transport workers alleged that the students vandalised the bus and assaulted both the driver and the helper. In protest, workers blocked the Sylhet–Sunamganj highway for two hours on Sunday afternoon, bringing traffic to a halt in both directions.
Although police intervention brought an end to the blockade by 5pm, the transport workers declared an indefinite strike starting Monday, demanding justice over the incident.
Only buses on the Sylhet–Sunamganj route are affected, not services across the entire region, said Sylhet District Bus and Minibus Workers’ Union Joint General Secretary Ali Akbar Rajon.
He added that the strike would continue until their demands are met.