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Published : 10 Dec 2025, 07:17 PM
Mobile phone traders linked with the “unofficial” handset market have blocked the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel intersection in Dhaka.
At 6.15pm on Wednesday, Tejgaon Division Additional Deputy Commissioner Fazlul Karim said all surrounding roads had been closed to traffic because of the blockade.
He added that efforts were under way to persuade the demonstrators to clear the area.
The traders have been demonstrating for several days against the National Equipment Identification Register (NEIR) system.
On Wednesday evening, they also blocked SAARC Fountain crossing in Karwan Bazar as part of their ongoing protest.
The NEIR system, scheduled to come into effect on Dec 16, will prevent illegally imported phones from being used in Bangladesh.
It will also curtail the trade in second-hand phones brought in unlawfully from abroad.
Once the system is operational, only government-approved handsets will be permitted on the network.
With just eight days remaining, major players in the grey market have yet to reach a resolution with the government.
Officials said steps are being considered to reduce import duties on mobile phones, though the details are yet to be finalised.
Traders claim they are holding hundreds of millions of taka worth of unsold devices.
They also fear their long-running trade in illegally imported second-hand phones could be at risk once NEIR is enforced.
