Dhaka, Mar 10 (bdnews24.com) – Ticket service buses in the capital resumed operating on Wednesday as owners lifted their strike following an assurance by a parliamentary standing committee of steps to stop extortion on the bus routes.

Owners of a number of inter-city buses called a sudden strike Tuesday afternoon putting commuters in trouble, protesting a reported assault on a fellow bus owner after he refused to pay a toll to members of Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samiti, an association of bus workers.

The striking bus operators held a meeting with the parliamentary standing committee on the communications ministry on Wednesday.

"We have withdrawn our strike from Wednesday afternoon after the standing committee assured us steps will be taken to stop extortion," said Md Shahdat Hossain, director of bus company Swakalpa Paribahan Private Limited.

Swakalpa Paribahan's ticket counter at Mirpur's Shewrapara area opened its shutters soon after.

"We closed our counter yesterday afternoon following the order of the owners. They asked me to reopen counter today," ticket counter operator Nurul Huda said.

Bus operators alleged Tuesday that the workers association was backed by shipping minister Shajahan Khan. The minister denied the allegation to the media.

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