Dhaka  - Bangladesh's water transport workers began an indefinite strike Sunday, halting river tranportation and other operations in the South Asian country.

Waterways Transport Workers Federation of Bangladesh, a coalition of river workers, called the strike across to press its 22-point charter of demands including announcement of a fresh pay structure.

"The strike will continue until fulfilment of our demands," federation president Golam Mowla said.

The workers' demands included 90 per cent boost of their minimum wages currently at 1,500 takas (28 dollars) a month, stepping up security in the waterways to stop extortion and robbery, restoring navigability of the rivers through regular dredging and checking corruption at the shipping department.

"Now we have no alternative but to go on strike as we have long been asking the government to accept our demands," Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, federation secretary general, said.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded at different terminals, and traders also face a severe crisis with their goods piling up.

According to available statistics, some 125,000 water transport workers are engaged in private-sector shipping operations linking the capital and the coastal districts.(dpa)