People with their vehicles crowd filling stations on Saturday night as filling station and tank lorry owners and workers announced a strike for an indefinite period from this morning. — Sanaul Haque

Owners and workers of filling stations and tank lorries said that they would go on strike for an indefinite period from today as the government was yet to resolve the issue of an increase in their commission till Saturday evening.
The Bangladesh Petrol Pump and Tank Lorry Owners and Workers Unity Association called for the strike to push for the demand.
The decision, meanwhile, pushed owners of vehicles to stand in long queues at filling stations in Dhaka and Chittagong beginning Saturday afternoon to collect fuel.
The association’s convener Mohammad Najmul Huq on Friday announced the programme as the government was yet to take any step to resolve the matter after the association had threatened the strike a week ago.
Motorcyclist Shafiul Alam, who was standing in a long queue at a filling station near the Rupashi Bangla Hotel in the afternoon, told New Age that he was waiting for refilling fearing that the stations would remain shut for an indefinite period.
The association demanded a 3.4 per cent commission on the sales of diesel and 4 a per cent on the sales of octane in line with a decision the Energy Division made on June 29, 2010. The association is also pressing for eight more demands.
‘Tank lorry and petrol pump owners and workers will stop loading, transporting, selling and distributing petroleum products at 6:00am on January 20,’ Najmul said.
Filling station owners now get 2.1 per cent commission on the sales of diesel and a 3.1 per cent on octane.
The association also called on the government to increase the rent of
tank lorries, make a special arrangement for issuing driving licences to
tank lorry drivers, introduce a Tk 5 lakh accident-coverage insurance, renovate old terminals and set up terminals at important locations, among others.
The association has been pushing for a 13-point charter of demands for several years. It has so far realised a few of the demands through programmes such as strike and work abstention.