Commuters, patients suffer as transport, ambulance strikes underway in Dinajpur

Commuters and patients have been sufferings immensely due to separate strikes enforced by the transport workers and ambulance drivers in Dinajpur since this morning.

The agitating transport workers blocked different roads, including the Dinajpur-Rangpur highway and Dinajpur-Gobindaganj regional road, parking buses to obstruct vehicular movement, reports our Dinajpur correspondent.

A large number of goods-carrying trucks from different districts, including Thakurgaon and Panchagarh, got stuck at various places due to the strike.

Plying of Dhaka-bound buses also remained suspended following the strike.

The transport workers enforced the strike after a case was filed against some fellow workers following a clash with human hauler drivers in Baluadanga area of Dinajpur last night.

The transport workers threatened to continue the strile until the case is withdrawn.

On the other hand, ambulance drivers of the government-run M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital and private ambulance drivers clashed yesterday.

The driver of an ICU-supported ambulance of the hospital was carrying the body of a deceased instead of patients, claimed private ambulance drivers.  

The clash ensued when some private ambulance drivers protested and also filmed the incident as the ambulance is designated for carrying critical pateints only.  

Later, police arrested seven persons, including Md Azad, president of Ambulance Drivers Association, after the hospital authorities filed a case with Dinajpur Sadar Police Station, Mozaffar Hossain, officer-in-charge of the police station, confirmed.

Both the transport workers and ambulance drivers enforced the strikes demanding withdrawal of the cases filed against them and legal actions against their opponents.