Battery-run rickshaw drivers block Jurain level crossing; disrupt rail, road traffic

Battery-run autorickshaw drivers blocked a rail crossing in Jurain this morning, disrupting road and rail traffic.
Shafiqul Islam, Officer-in-charge (OC) of Shyampur Police Station, said that around 11:00am, around 400-500 rickshaw drivers blocked the crossing. They staged the protest demanding that battery-run rickshaws be allowed to ply the roads in Dhaka.
OC Shafiqul said the police initially tried to persuade the protesters to move from the area.
But as the protesters were unwilling to listen, police later chased them away, he added.
By 1:00pm, the protesters were cleared from the roads, said OC Shafiqul.
Mohammad Anwar Hossain, station master at Kamalapur Railway Station, said that rail connection between Dhaka and Narayanganj, Rajshahi, and Khulna was disrupted from 11:20am.
Two trains that were supposed to leave Dhaka for Narayanganj and two that were supposed to enter Dhaka from the neighbouring city have been delayed.
The Nakshi Katha commuter going to Khulna from Dhaka, and Dhaka-bound Modhumoti Express from Rajshahi could not reach their destinations either.
The lines were clear as of 3:10pm, said the station master.
Yesterday, hundreds of battery-run rickshaw drivers blocked roads and rail lines in Dhaka, including at Mohakhali, Agargaon and Mirpur-10, bringing traffic to a halt for more than five hours. Rail communication between Dhaka and most of the country was suspended for around six hours from 9:45am after a group of drivers blocked the Mohakhali level crossing.
Earlier on Tuesday, the High Court directed the government to take necessary steps to stop the plying of battery-run rickshaws in Dhaka within three days. The following day, drivers took to the streets in protest at the decision.