Ferry services on Shariatpur-Chandpur route resumed after seven hours of suspension on Saturday as the BIWTC workers went on a strike protesting the arrest of Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain, an employee of a ferry following the death of a madrasah student in an accident.
The workers of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) also threatened to go for an indefinite strike from Saturday evening unless the arrested ferry master is released within six hours, said Iqbal Hossain, deputy manager of BIWTC at Narsinghpur Ferry Terminal.
Earlier, the BIWTC employees halted ferry operations from 4:00 am Saturday, leaving more than 100 vehicles stranded at both ends of the Shariatpur-Chandpur route and causing immense suffering to passengers and transport workers.
Ferry services resumed around 11 am on following discussions among BIWTC authorities, the administration and the protesting employees.
On Friday, Tarikul Islam, 10, a madrasah student was killed and four others were injured when a truck ran over him as the ferry named ‘Kakoli’ collided with a sand-laden bulkhead on the Shariatpur-Chandpur water route.
Following the accident, Alubazar River Police Outpost in Chandpur arrested Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain, the first-class master of the Kakoli ferry.