<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>A 48-hour strike, enforced by goods transport owners and workers, is underway in Sylhet on Monday, demanding withdrawal of the ban on stone extraction as well as reopening of stone quarries.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The strike, enforced by Sylhet truck, pickup, covered van malik-sramik pikya parishad, started at 6 am.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sabbir Ahmed Foyez, organising secretary of Sylhet truck, pickup, covered van malik-sramik oikya parishad, said, “Our strike is going on peacefully.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They will go on indefinite strike in the district if their demand is not met, he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the transport workers and owners, a total of 15 lakh people are directly involved in the stone business in Sylhet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Transport workers said 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. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>