Rickshaws to be banned on 2 more Dhaka roads from tomorrow

Two more roads of the Dhaka city will be made off-limits to rickshaws from tomorrow to improve the traffic situation.

The roads are Progoti Saroni to Malibagh via Kuril Bishwa Road and Mirpur Road to Dhanmondi-27 intersections via Gabtoli.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) today announced the decision after a discussion with a committee that has been formed in a bid to bring discipline on the city streets and free those from illegal occupations.

Visually challenged Rifat Pasha, an ex-IR student of Dhaka University, yesterday held a human chain alone in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka this noon expressing his resentment over the recent ban on plying rickshaw on many city streets and said who will I move across the capital if the rickshaw is banned. Photo-Anisur Rahman

After the meeting held at its Nagar Bhaban office in Gulshan, DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam called upon the city dwellers to cope up with the inconvenience for the greater interest of improving the traffic situation in the capital.

“Rickshaw is not banned, but requires control,” Atiqul said adding that there is a fear of occurring accident when rickshaws are run alongside engine-run vehicles on the same road.

He also requested authorities of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation and Bus Owners’ Association to run adequate number of bus on the routes to ease the suffering of the commuters.

Soon after the announcement, many people from different professions criticised the decision in the social media platforms including Facebook.

Many of them described the decision as illogical and called upon the DNCC to withdraw the decision realising the suffering of the common people who are bound to boar on rickshaws.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon announced that three roads of the capital will be made off-limits to rickshaws from tomorrow.

The roads are Kuril to Sayedabad via Rampura and Khilgaon, Gabtoli to Azimpur via Asad Gate, and Science Laboratory intersection to Shahbagh intersection.