Transp ort of popular summer fruitlitchi from the district has remained suspended due to anunscheduled72-hour-long transport strike starting yesterdaymorning.

Wholesalers and gardeners of Dinajpur fruit market said they incurred losses of aboutTk 1.5crore on the first day of the transport strike that was enforced in eight northern districts following a meeting of transport leaders in Rangpur on Monday evening

Large quantities of litchi on trucks and buses are transported to different places of the country and it serves as a major earning source for a large number of people in Dinajour, a district famous for high quality tasty varieties of the summer fruit.

The district assumes a festive look during the plucking season of litchi as the gardeners, traders and litchilovers throngthe area.

But during a visit to the local market onTuesday, this correspondent saw a different scene as there were hardly any buyers from other districts although the local market remained flooded with litchi.

Due to absence of buyers from other districts following the sudden transport strike, the traders were selling their litchi for throwaway prices.

"I sold Bombay litchi atTk 220 per hundred pieces on

Monday, today [Tuesday] I am selling it at Tk 70," said Md Mohidul Islam of Dinajpur litchi market.

China-3 and Bedana, two other popular varieties of litchi, sold for Tk 350 to Tk 500 per hundred on Monday but the prices dropped to Tk 150-200 yesterday, local traders said.

"I would not pluck the litchi if I had any idea about the transport strike. I sold China-3 litchi at Tk 500 for per 100 pieces yesterday, the same litchi I am selling atTk

200 today," said Md Aslam Mia, a gardener of Dewandihi village of Biral upazilainDinajpur.

Md Monir Hossain, a wholesaler oflocal fruit market, said the transport strike costTk 1.5croreloss to the litchi traders ofDinajpuryesterday.

Inter-district parcel service from Dinajpur has also remained suspended due to the strike, much to the inconvenience of people willing to send things, especially high quality Dinajpur varieties of litchi

for their relatives and acquaintances in other districts.

"I purchased 500 litchis from the local market this morning for sending to my relatives living in Dhaka, but I could not send it, as the courier service providers declined to book it," said Anwarul Islam.

Fazle Rabbi, general secretary of Dinajpur Transport Workers Union, said the 72-hour long trans-port strike that started yesterday morning will