Bus workers enforced an indefinite strike on short-distance routes in Kushtia on Friday morning to press home a two-point demand, causing suffering for passengers.

Bus services on all short-distance routes from the district remained suspended since 5:00am, forcing passengers to rely on alternative modes of transport and pay higher fares to reach their destinations.

Services on the Kushtia-Meherpur and Kushtia-Pragpur routes were halted. Buses on several other routes, including Kushtia-Khulna-Jashore, Kushtia-Rajbari, Kushtia-Barishal, Kushtia-Rajshahi and Kushtia-Pabna-Sirajganj, also remained off the road. However, long-distance buses to Dhaka are operating as usual.

Earlier, Kushtia District Motor Workers Union announced the strike on Thursday evening.

Its President Mahabul Haque said both bus and minibus owners’ and workers’ associations operate vehicles on the Kushtia-Khulna-Jashore route, but workers’ association was not receiving certain facilities.

He said meetings were held with the owners’ group over two demands and an ultimatum was issued to meet them by April 15. The demands are ensuring equal facilities for workers as enjoyed by owners in the transport sector and allowing a bus operated under the workers’ association to run on the Kushtia-Khulna route.

As the demands went unheeded, bus and minibus operations were halted indefinitely from Friday morning, Mahabul said, adding that workers of buses from the owners’ association also joined them in the strike.

Around 10:30am, Kushtia District Bus-Minibus Owners’ Group General Secretary Rafiqul Islam said transport workers had placed the demands one week ago.

He said as the demands were not met, bus operations on all routes were suspended from Friday morning.