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Drivers of battery-run rickshaws have blocked roads in different parts of the capital to protest the High Court’s decision to ban the vehicles from the Dhaka Metropolitan Area.
Separate protests were reported in the Mohakhali, Mohammadpur, Agargoan and Nakhalpara areas on Thursday. The protests have clogged Dhaka thoroughfares, leading to heavy traffic congestion.
Drivers began to gather at the Mohakhali Rail Gate area around 10am on Thursday, blocking traffic in the area, reports bdnews24.com.
“Rickshaw drivers have blocked the road and are protesting,” said Rasel Sarwar, chief of Banani Police Station. “Additional police personnel have been deployed at the scene.”
Mohammad Ruhul Kabir Khan, deputy commissioner of the Tejgaon Division of police, said that reports of road blockades had come in from the Mohammadpur Three-Way intersection, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar’s Agargaon and Nakhalpara.
The drivers took to the streets around 10am and police are on the scene to control the situation, he said.
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.