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Published : 21 Nov 2024, 05:55 PM
Traffic in Dhaka's Mohakhali has returned to normal after five hours as drivers of battery-powered rickshaws left the area after chases and counter chases with law-enforcing agencies and vandalism surrounding their road blockade to protest the High Court’s decision to ban their vehicles from the Dhaka metropolitan area.
The roads and rail lines in the Mohakhali area were able to return to normal after 3pm on Thursday, said Rasel Sarwar, chief of Banani Police Station.
The protesting drivers started to gather at the Mohakhali Rail Gate after 9am. At one point, they staged a demonstration by blocking the road around 10am, he said.
Dhaka Railway Police Station chief Joynal Abedin said the rail links between the capital’s Kamalapur Railway Station and the rest of the country were snapped as hundreds of drivers took up positions on the rail crossing.
At 4pm, the police officer said: “The situation is normal now for train operation.”
The locals said the rickshaw drivers had engaged in running battles with the law-enforcing agencies in Mohakhali around 1pm.
The law enforcers ‘retreated' when the protesters started hurling brickbats at that time.
Several vehicles belonging to the security forces and buildings in the vicinity came under attack and vandalised at that moment.
The number of protesters began to drop after 2pm. At one point, there were over 100 rickshaw drivers in Mohakhali around 2:45pm.
Traffic in Mohakhali resumed after 3pm when police and army personnel 'removed' the protesting drivers from the road.
Separate protests by blocking roads were reported in parts of the capital, including Mohammadpur, Rampura, Agargaon, Mirpur, Gabtoli, Mazar Road, and Malibagh since the morning.
The protesters exchanged chases with the law-enforcing agencies in many places.
The protest of the rickshaw drivers on the road for a long time ahead of the weekend clogged Dhaka thoroughfares, leading to heavy traffic congestion.
Because of this, the city residents had to endure severe trouble to reach their destinations throughout the day.
Darussalam Police Station chief Rakibul Hossain said, "The battery-run rickshaw drivers took a position on the road in Mazar Road after 10am. Within half an hour, we were able to convince them to leave the street. Traffic is normal now on all roads under my station."
Mohammad Ruhul Kabir Khan, deputy commissioner of the Tejgaon Division of police, said reports of road blockades had come in from the Mohammadpur Three-Way intersection, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar’s Agargaon and Nakhalpara.
Mohammad Maksudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of the Mirpur Division of police, said the ‘situation remains normal’ in the afternoon after frequent processions and attempts to block roads in the region throughout the day.
Earlier, the rickshaw drivers had led a march from Mirpur-13 and tried to block the Mirpur-10 roundabout after reaching there.
However, police did not allow them to protest there. At one stage, they moved to the sidewalk and started to chant slogans.
On Tuesday, the High Court ordered battery-run rickshaws to be banned from the Dhaka Metropolitan Area within three days.
The bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi made the decision based on a writ petition by the Pedal-run Rickshaw Association.
The home secretary, local government secretary, police chief, DMP commissioner, and the authorities of the two Dhaka city corporations were instructed to implement the decision.
The court also issued a rule asking why the authorities’ negligence in stopping the use of battery-run rickshaws should not be declared illegal.
“There are no licences for battery-run rickshaws, so they are completely illegal,” the court said.
On Wednesday, battery-run rickshaw drivers blocked the road in Dhaka’s Dayaganj intersection to protest the decision. The protests expanded to different parts of the capital on Thursday.
