Dhaka, Bangladesh Global: Dhaka’s rail communication with the rest of the country has been snapped as battery-run rickshaw drivers block the rail tracks, demanding the High Court allow them to operate in the capital city.
The demonstrations caused massive traffic congestion since Thursday morning (November 21). Protesters occupied streets in Mohammadpur, Basila, Mirpur, Agargaon, Mazar Road, Rampura Bazar and other key areas in the city, causing immense suffering for the commuters.
Some of them protested in Mohakhali keeping their rickshaws on the rail track, disrupting train communication.
The High Court on November 19 ordered the authorities concerned to make Dhaka city free of battery-run rickshaws within three days after hearing a petition filed by an alliance of peddled rickshaw owners.
“We’ll be starved to death if the ban is not overturned,” said Nasim Akhter, a protester. “We don’t care about trains. We’ll allow trains to run only if we are allowed to operate.”
Train schedules were disrupted, leaving thousands of people stranded at the Kamalapur Railway Station.
The interim government has not made any official comment about the ongoing protests.
An estimated 1.2 million rickshaws, including those powered by batteries, operate in the capital.
Bangladesh Global/JS
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