Shawdesh Desk:

A 48-hour strike, enforced by goods transport owners and workers, began in Sylhet on Monday morning to press home their demands of withdrawal of the ban on stone extraction as well as reopening of stone quarries.

The strike, enforced by Sylhet Truck, Pick-up, Covered Van Malik-Sramik Oikya Parishad, started at 6:00am.

Sabbir Ahmed Foyez, organising secretary of the Parishad, said, “Our strike is going on peacefully.”

He added that they would go on indefinite strike in the district if their demands were not met.

A meeting of goods transport workers’ leaders was held at the Deputy Commissioner’s office on Sunday afternoon but no solution came from the meeting.

Although the district administration said that the leaders have assured them of withdrawal of the strike the workers’ leaders said no such decision has been taken.

On Sunday, the goods transport owners decided to go on the strike, demanding withdrawal of a ban on stone extraction and reopening of stone quarries in the district’s Jaflong, Bichanakandi and Bholaganj.

According to the transport workers and owners, a total of 15 lakh people are directly involved in the stone business in Sylhet.

Transport workers said that stones from the quarries had long been transported across the country since the country’s independence but a government ban for the last five years has had an adverse impact on the freight transport owners.