Battery-run autorickshaw pullers blocked the Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Savar on Saturday, demanding an end to alleged police harassment and extortion and calling for alternative employment if authorities bar them from operating on the roads.
“If the government does not allow us to drive auto-rickshaws, then it should also provide us with jobs so that we can support our families,” several protesters said during the demonstration.
Hundreds of drivers gathered at Pakija More around noon and parked their rickshaws across the highway, disrupting traffic for nearly two hours and causing long tailbacks on both sides of the busy route.
The protesters alleged that despite restrictions on three-wheelers on highways, many are forced to operate for their livelihoods and are regularly stopped by highway police, who allegedly compel them to pay Tk 2,600 without receipts.
Drivers said they often earn only Tk 600 to Tk 700 a day after working long hours in the heat and are forced to borrow money to secure the release of seized vehicles.
“We want relief from this harassment. If rickshaws are not allowed on the roads, then the factories producing them should also be shut down, or we should be given alternative employment,” one protester said.
The blockade caused severe traffic congestion from Savar Bazar bus stand to Genda and Hemayetpur, leaving passengers stranded in intense heat. Ambulances and emergency vehicles were also caught in the gridlock.
Around 1:45pm, the protesters withdrew the blockade after Savar Model Police Station Inspector (Operations) Helal Uddin assured them that the issue would be discussed with highway police authorities.
Responding to the allegations, Officer-in-Charge Sheikh Shahjahan of Savar Highway Police Station denied claims of extortion, saying police were enforcing existing laws that prohibit the movement of three-wheelers, CNG-run vehicles and e-bikes on highways.
He said the Tk 2,600 collected was part of the legal process for releasing seized vehicles, including a Tk 2,500 fine and a Tk 100 bank charge under Section 39 of the law.