Dhaka-Chattogram highway, the key trade route, faces disruption again

Transport of passengers and export-import goods got almost halted today as most vehicles avoided the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, the lifeline of the country's economy, amid a new wave of violence surrounding the students' non-cooperation movement against the government protesting the deaths of 200 people and nationwide arrests by the police.

This latest disruption comes just over a week after vehicle movement on the highway was severely restricted due to violence over the public job quota reform movement by students.

"No trucks, covered vans, or prime movers are operating on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway as the owners are afraid of violence," said Chowdhury Zafar Ahmed, general secretary of the Bangladesh Covered Van-Truck-Prime Mover Goods Transport Owners Association.

Only one-fourth of the covered vans and prime movers operated on the road last night, he added.

Data from the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) shows that around 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles use the four-lane highway daily, with 35 to 40 percent being goods-laden ones, an official told The Daily Star earlier.

The highway is the main route for around 90 percent of Bangladesh's over $100 billion in international trade. Any disruption means that export-import activities, as well as production in factories, will suffer.

An official of the RHD said the movement of vehicles on the key highway slumped today.

Bus service comes to a halt

Apart from goods vehicles, the unrest has also affected the movement of inter-district passenger buses.

Md Abdus Sattar, general manager of Green Line Paribahan, a leading bus service operator, said they are not operating buses due to a lack of passengers.

"No passenger has bought any tickets today, though we were ready to run our buses," he said, adding that Green Line operated buses on almost all routes last night despite having very few passengers.

"Not only us, but all bus operators are facing the same situation," he added.

Mosharref Hossain, general manager of Hanif Paribahan, said the company kept operating all their long-distance buses since this morning.