The government has backtracked on its decision to ban operations of unauthorised battery-run rickshaws in Dhaka city amid street protests by their drivers.
Drivers of battery-run rickshaws and easy-bikes held a demonstration for the second consecutive day on Monday, protesting at the government鈥檚 decision to ban the vehicles in the capital without ensuring alternative employment.聽
鈥楾he battery-powered rickshaws can be operated in limited areas of the capital,鈥� said cabinet secretary Md Mahbub Hossain, quoting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a post-cabinet meeting briefing at the secretariat.
The PM, however, insisted that bans on the movement of battery-run rickshaws, three-wheelers, and non-motorised vehicles on 22 national highways, imposed since 2015 in the wake of a spate of fatal traffic accidents, would continue.
The latest government decision came five days after road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, on Wednesday instructed the authorities concerned not to allow battery-run vehicles on Dhaka city roads, sparking protests in the capital.聽
鈥楶rime Minister Sheikh Hasina has allowed battery-run vehicles to operate in Dhaka city considering the sufferings of low-income people, the rise in living costs, and the current global situation,鈥� said Quader, also the road transport minister,聽 at a programme in Dhaka.
Earlier in the morning, the protesters blocked major roads in the city, leading to severe traffic congestion in some busy areas, just a day after a clash with police in the Mirpur area, demanding the withdrawal of the ban.
Police arrested 42 people, mostly drivers of battery-run rickshaws, between Sunday and Monday in four cases filed with different police stations following Sunday鈥檚 clash, officers in charge of Mirpur, Pallabi, and Kafrul police stations said.
Protesters at a rally on Monday announced they would hold a nationwide demonstration on May 27, demanding the issuance of route permits and licences for three-wheeler vehicles and finalising a policy for these vehicles.
During the rally in front of the National Press Club held on Monday, Rickshaw, Battery Rickshaw, Van, and Easy Bike Sangram Parishad Dhaka unit vice-president Jalal Ahmed said that for the past two days, they were not able to sleep or eat due to the ban.
Khalekuzzaman Lipon, convener of the organisation and organising secretary of Samajtantrik Sramik Front, said that 60 per cent of the people in Dhaka travel by these rickshaws, and private vehicles occupy about 80 per cent of the roads in the capital, with only 6 per cent commuters.
鈥榃ho will take on the responsibility of thousands of self-employed people and their families if public transport is evicting them from the roads without making alternative arrangements?鈥�
Mashiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Rampura police station, said that over 100 drivers blocked two sides of the road near Better Life Hospital around 9:20am, causing suffering to commuters.
Traffic movement resumed after the drivers left the road at about 10:30am, he said.
Local drivers from Demra brought out a procession at about 10:30am, said Md Jahirul Islam, officer-in-charge of the Demra police station.
According to the police, two cases were filed with Pallabi police station, one each with Mirpur police station and Kafrul police station, on Sunday against more than 2,000 people.
On Sunday, battery-run vehicle drivers brought out a procession in Mirpur, where over a dozen people were injured as they clashed with police. Protesters also set a police box on fire in the area.
On May 15, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, during a Road Transport Advisory Council meeting at the BRTA office in Banani, directed that battery-operated rickshaws be banned in the capital.
The road transport ministry banned three-wheelers and non-motorised vehicles from 22 national highways on August 1, 2015, amid some fatal road crashes.
In the Motor Vehicle Speed Limit Guidelines 2024, adopted earlier this month, the government banned any kind of three-wheelers on expressways, national highways, and regional highways.
