Battery-run rickshaw drivers end Jurain rail tracks blockade after 3 hrs
Train services on the Padma Bridge route from Dhaka resume after protesters leave
Battery-run rickshaw drivers blocked the railway crossing in the capital's Jurain from 11am to 1:30pm today (22 November), demonstrating for over three hours.
Clashes and chases-counter-chases were reported between police and the drivers during this time.
More than 200 drivers staged the blockade to protest an impending ban on battery-run rickshaws, in line with a High Court order, and demanding permission to operate on the roads, said Nazmun Nahar, duty officer at Shyampur police station.
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Police brought the situation under control following the clashes, during which the law enforcers baton-charged and fired teargas shells to disperse the protesters.
At around 2pm, local BNP activists chased the protesting drivers, who then moved away from there, took a position in a nearby area and continued protesting.
Meanwhile, train services between Dhaka and Narayanganj, Khulna and Rajshahi were suspended after the blockade started.
The services resumed at around 3pm after the protesters left the area, Anwar Hossain, the station master at Kamalapur Railway Station, told Prothom Alo.
Train operations on the Narayanganj route and the Padma Bridge route towards Khulna and Rajshahi were now normal, he said.
Yesterday (21 November), drivers of battery-run rickshaws brought Dhaka to nearly a halt by staging road blockades and demonstrations in different locations across the capital for more than six hours.
During the demonstrations, the drivers had clashed with law enforcers in the Mohakhali and Khilgaon areas. They also vandalised several buildings and vehicles of the law enforcement forces at Mohakhali.
Moreover, train services between Dhaka and most of the country were suspended for six hours due to the blockade at Mohakhali yesterday.
On Tuesday (19 November), the High Court directed authorities to stop the operation of battery-run rickshaws in Dhaka city streets within three days.
On the same night a Jahangirnagar University student, Afsana Karim, was killed in an accident involving a battery-run rickshaw, which later sparked protests among students.
