Rizvi vows end to syndicates in transport sector

BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has voiced hope that the newly formed committee of the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation will play an effective role in eradicating the illegal activities, extortion and syndicate-driven control that have long afflicted the country's road transport sector.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday after paying tribute at the graves of BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Rizvi said the sector would be overhauled through a combination of fresh leadership and modern thinking. He decried what he described as its prevailing disorder, asserting that a vested-interest group and syndicates had dominated it for years, inflicting hardship on transport workers and ordinary commuters alike.

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Rizvi stressed that the new committee must go beyond tackling extortion and illegality by safeguarding workers' legitimate rights, professional dignity and safety, and he called for better, safer passenger services free from harassment. Turning to the wider political climate, he argued that instability could be averted if politicians discharged their duties with honesty and patriotism, adding that entrusting responsibility to genuine representatives of the people could bring prolonged stagnation to an end and restore a democratic and orderly environment.