The launch owners called an indefinite period countrywide strike from Saturday afternoon demanding increase in launch fare.
Earlier on Friday the Bangladesh Inland Waterways (Passenger Carriers) Association sent a letter to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority to increase the fares of passenger vessels to Tk 3.4 from Tk 1.7 for the first 100 kilometres and to Tk 2.8 from Tk 1.4 for over 100 kilometres due to the increase in the fuel prices.
‘BIWTA officials earlier told us that they would give us feedback by Saturday 12:00pm but they did not,’ said BIWPCA president Mahbub Uddin Ahmed.
He said that the owners stopped running launches after 12:00pm on Saturday by themselves.
‘This is not a decision from the association as they stopped running launches on their own,’ he added.
