Battery-run autorickshaw drivers in Sylhet blocked Chouhatta–Zindabazar road for more than five hours on Tuesday to press home their 11-demand, including the withdrawal of the ban on their vehicles.

Around 12:45 pm, drivers gathered in front of Central Shaheed Minar and blocked the road until 5:30pm, causing traffic congestion.

Police and army personnel were deployed at the site to maintain order.

Earlier in the day, a workers’ rally was held at the Sylhet Government Alia Madrasa ground from 11:30 am, organized by the Sylhet District Rickshaw-Van-Easybike Workers’ Union.

Speakers at the rally described the ban on battery-operated auto-rickshaws as ‘unjust and inhumane’ and demanded its immediate withdrawal, warning of greater protests if their demands were ignored.

They emphasised that these vehicles are environmentally friendly and a primary source of livelihood for low-income people.

After the rally, workers, wearing red headbands, staged a sit-in and lie-in protest on the road in front of the Shaheed Minar, halting traffic for nearly five hours.

Pedestrians and commuters were forced to walk to their destinations as vehicles could not pass.

The demonstration began with a procession from Ambar Khana to the rally site, with protesters chanting slogans such as ‘Return our rickshaws,’ ‘Give us licenses,’ and ‘Create employment.’

Transport strike withdrawn by consensus following government initiative

The 11-point charter includes: withdrawal of the ban and return of confiscated vehicles, reconnection of electricity to garages, permission to operate on necessary streets until licensing and regulations are finalized by BRTA, formation of a committee for coordinated road management, surveys to determine area-based vehicle numbers and ownership, release of arrested workers including union leader Abu Zafar, modernization of vehicles, prevention of harassment and extortion of drivers, issuance of trade licenses for garages, construction of service lanes for all types of rickshaws, and protection of workers’ livelihoods along with implementation of labor reform commission decisions.

The union warned that more stringent actions will follow if their demands are not met.

Since late September, Sylhet Metropolitan Police, under Commissioner Abdul Kuddus Chowdhury, has launched operations to enforce the ban, seizing numerous battery-operated rickshaws and cutting electricity at multiple charging points.