Rampura, Badda slowly return to normalcy amid unease

The capital's Rampura and Badda, which have become known as hotspots of violence centring on the quota reform movement, are gradually returning to normalcy since the enforcement of curfew. Residents, however, remain wary of potential unrest.

After a visit to the areas on Thursday (25 July), it was seen that most businesses, factories, restaurants, and shops along the main roads and residential areas of Rampura, Badda, and Pragati Sarani were operating as usual. 

However, several branches of private banks near BRAC University in Merul Badda, including Bank Asia, Prime Bank, First Security Islami Bank, UCB Bank, and Dutch-Bangla Bank, remained closed.

Abdus Salam, owner of Alam Traders, a rod and cement shop located 100 yards north of BRAC University in Badda, told The Business Standard, "The situation seems normal now. Police and BGB are patrolling the areas regularly."

He said, "We have managed to resume business on Wednesday [24 July] after a seven-day shutdown as the situation improved. However, there is still a sense of unease among us because there are rumours that protests might resume around BRAC University at any time."

"The university is closed now, but we will see what happens once it reopens," he added.

Talking about 19 July violence in the area, Abdus Salam said vandals had destroyed the CCTV camera in front of his shop and also damaged the shutter.

Masum Ahmed, manager of the popular Al-Kaderia restaurant in the Rampura Kachabazar area, said, "As situation in the area has been quite normal for the last few days, we reopened the restaurant Tuesday [23 July]." 

He said, "The prolonged protests and clashes have left everyone in the area anxious. We hope everything will return to the way it was."

Talking about his losses, Basudev Shah, owner of Raja Saw Mill in Merul Badda, said, "During the protests, attackers looted sawdust and wood shavings worth lakhs of taka and set them on fire on the main road, creating chaos. 

"It will take time to recover from the damage we incurred. But we had to resume operations Monday because we can't afford to stay idle," he added.

According to locals, violence centring the quota reform movement forced all businesses, factories, restaurants, and shops in the area to shut down from 16 July, severely impacting the local economy and people's livelihoods. 

The situation has started to return to normal after the imposition of the curfew and currently, almost everything is operating as usual, they added.