CNG-run auto rickshaw owners on Saturday threatened to call a 48-hour strike May 26-27 in the Dhaka metropolitan city if their 10-point demand is not met before the date.
The demands include raising economic life of the CNG-auto rickshaw to 15 years from existing 11 years; raising deposit money to Tk 900 from Tk 600; fixing the passenger fare at Tk 40 for first two kilometres from Tk 25; Tk 10 for each next km from Tk 8 and waiting charge at Tk 2 per minute; cancelling payment of Tk 2,500 as advance income tax; and stopping police harassment in the name of document checking.
Dhaka Mahanagar CNG Autorickshaw Owners Association placed the demands at a press conference at the Bangladesh Photo Journalists Association Auditorium in the city.
President of the association Md Harun-ur-Rashid, general secretary ATM Nazmul Hasan and other leaders of the organisation were present at the press conference.
Reading out the charter of demands, Nazmul Hasan said they had called a similar strike in July last year with the same demands.
‘But following the assurance of the communications minister to review and consider our demands, we withdrew our action programme. But in last one year, the government virtually paid no heed to our demands which again forced us to opt for action programme,’ he said.
-With New Age input
