Battery-run rickshaw and easy-bike drivers blocked roads and staged a demonstration on Monday morning to protest the unconditional release of four arrested leaders, the suspension of eviction drives against battery-run rickshaws, and police harassment.
During a protest rally organized by the Rickshaw and Easy-Bike Owners-Workers Unity Council in front of the National Press Club on Monday morning, October 5, protesters displayed placards reading 'Give food, give clothes, or let autos run' and raised various slogans. From the demonstration, leaders of the council issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the government.
Their primary complaint is that electricity connections to garages charging autorickshaws are being intentionally disconnected. Furthermore, traffic police are constantly harassing drivers and sending seized autorickshaws to dumping grounds. The drivers claim that seizing a single rickshaw is followed by a five thousand taka fine and the filing of a case.
Following the road blockade in front of the Press Club on Monday morning, the drivers marched in a procession to the Dainik Bangla intersection. Speaking at a brief rally held there, S. M. Abu Bakar Siddique, president of the Rickshaw-Easy-Bike Owners-Workers Unity Council, said, 'We want to provide maximum cooperation to the government in running the country. However, if our four innocent leaders who are being punished are not unconditionally released within the next three working days or 48 hours, and if the unfair rickshaw eviction drive is not halted, we will announce even stricter movements.' He also warned that no one has the power to stop the program if their demands are not met.
Expressing intense anger over current commodity prices and civic amenities, a participating rickshaw puller named Shaheen Bepari said, 'There is no gas, oil, or water in the country—did the autos consume everything? During the previous government, there was water, gas, electricity, and commodity prices were also lower. Now the prices of everything are going up.' He stated they would not leave the roads until their demands are met.
Notably, on the afternoon of October 1, the Sabujbagh Police Station police detained and formally arrested four leaders of the Battery-Run Rickshaw Owners-Workers Unity Council. The arrestees are Sabujbagh Thana Committee President Akbar, his son Yasin, Sentu, and Rahim Mahajan. Drivers and workers took to the streets primarily in protest of these arrests.
Meanwhile, due to the drivers' blockade, the movement of autorickshaws dropped significantly across various areas of the capital since Monday morning. In areas such as Rampura, Badda, Malibagh, Khilgaon, Motijheel, Mirpur, and Mohammadpur, the number of autorickshaws was negligible compared to normal, causing severe suffering for general passengers.
