Dhaka, Bangladesh Global: Battery-powered rickshaw drivers blocked Dhaka's Mohakhali, Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Gabtoli, and Demra areas this morning, leading to massive traffic jams and public inconvenience.
The protesters took position at various spots across the capital around 9:30am.
Commuters struggled to reach their desired destination on time as the protesters, despite police efforts to disperse them.
Prajukta Roy Chowdhury, a resident of Mirpur-2, said, "It took me two hours to reach office this morning, which usually takes about 30 minutes. I was stuck at several intersections due to the blockades."
Several other commuters said they had been stuck at various signals for hours while some said they resorted to walking to avoid delays.
According to sources at the spot, around 1,500-2,000 battery-run rickshaw drivers gathered at the Mohakhali intersection around 9:30am and abruptly blocked the area.
Although police tried to persuade them to leave, they remained defiant, causing severe traffic congestion in Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Banani, Gulshan, and nearby areas.
Similar blockades took place at the Mazar Road, Darus Salam, Kazipara, and Shewrapara areas. Later, the protesters moved towards the Mirpur-10 roundabout, chanting slogans, said Sarjina Nasrin, additional deputy commissioner of DMP's Mirpur zone.
Protesting battery-run rickshaw drivers also blocked Tin Rastar Mor in Mohammadpur around 10:00am, causing heavy traffic in the area.
The protests were sparked by a High Court directive issued Tuesday, which ordered a ban on battery-powered rickshaws in Dhaka within three days.
The directive came during the initial hearing of a writ petition filed by the Greater Dhaka City Corporation Rickshaw Owners Unity Alliance, with a bench comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Mahmudur Raji issuing the order.
The court also issued a rule questioning the legality of not implementing the ban and instructed authorities, including the home secretary, local government secretary, inspector general of police, Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, and the city corporations, to enforce the directive.
In response, rickshaw drivers had blocked several roads yesterday, including Jatrabari, Dayaganj, Mirpur, and Kalyanpur.
Currently, around 1.3 million rickshaws operate in Dhaka, a significant portion of which are battery-powered.
Bangladesh Global/JS
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