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| Sunday, 3 February 2002 |
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Half-day strike hits Bangladesh transport,industry DHAKA, Saturday (Reuters) A half-day strike in impoverished Bangladesh, called by left-leaning political parties to protest government price rises and export plans, halted transportation and industry throughout the country on Saturday. Trains and long-distance buses delayed operations at the start of the strike early on Saturday, a work day in Bangladesh. Port and private mill authorities said they expected few employees would turn up because of the transport disruptions. The country's two bourses are not also expected to resume trading until the strike ends at 2:00 p.m. (0800 GMT). In the capital Dhaka, only a few rickshaws ventured into the otherwise empty streets. The 11-party alliance said in a statement the strike was to protest a recent government hike in fuel prices, a plan to export gas to India, and rise in the prices of essentials. The strike follows one on January 9 called by the main opposition Awami League of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The government raised fuel prices 20 percent, electricity 15 percent and cooking gas 42 percent from January 1. The hikes are part of an economic reform programme to qualify Bangladesh for International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank aid. Bangladesh hopes to get up to $1.5 billion in aid if it adopts policy reforms and a flexible exchange rate policy, as it struggles with a slide in its main export, garments, since the September 11 attacks on the United States. Some 1,200 factories have closed, leaving 300,000 workers, mostly women jobless in a country where half of the 130 million population live below the poverty line. |
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