ছবি: Battery-powered rickshaw drivers staged a protest by blocking the Jurain railway crossing.
Train services in Dhaka resumed this afternoon after battery-powered rickshaw drivers cleared the railway crossing in the Jurain area. Starting at 3:30 PM, trains on the Dhaka-Narayanganj route and those heading to Rajshahi and Khulna via the Padma Bridge were back in operation.
The resumption was confirmed by Md. Anwar Hossain, Station Master of Kamalapur Railway Station.
Earlier in the day, around 11:00 AM, more than 200 rickshaw drivers staged a protest at the Jurain railway crossing, demanding the right to operate their battery-powered rickshaws on the roads. Protesters blocked the railway by lowering barriers, causing traffic congestion in nearby streets.
Despite police efforts to negotiate with the protesters around 1:00 PM, the rickshaw drivers continued their demonstration. This escalated into clashes between the drivers and law enforcement, during which the protesters threw bricks at the police. In response, the police used tear gas shells and baton charges to disperse the crowd.
Md. Shafiqul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Shyampur Police Station, stated, "To control the situation, we had to use tear gas and resort to baton charges. By 1:30 PM, the situation had normalized."
The protests followed a High Court directive on Tuesday, ordering the cessation or regulation of battery-powered rickshaws within three days in Dhaka. This ruling came after the tragic death of Jahangirnagar University student Afsana Karim, who was hit by a battery-powered rickshaw on campus. The incident sparked protests from students.
Despite previous crackdowns, police have struggled to enforce the ban on battery-powered rickshaws in the capital. Just yesterday, drivers of these rickshaws staged demonstrations in four locations across Dhaka, blocking roads for six to seven hours. The Mahakhali area witnessed violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement, with rickshaw drivers vandalizing several buildings and vehicles.
As a result, train services between Dhaka and other parts of the country were suspended for six hours. Today's protest marked yet another challenge in managing the city's transportation crisis.
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