Battery-driven auto drivers finally left an area of the posh neighbourhood of Banani following their clash with pedalled peers with the army’s intervention amid an ongoing campaign against the rickshaws run on battery.
Sources said members of the army rushed in to quell the troubled situation and cleared a blockade put up by drivers of battery-run rickshaws.
The pullers of both modes of vehicles had a nasty brush at Banani on Monday as they clashed with the pullers of pedalled vehicles amid a snap decision of Banani Society for their evacuation from the area.
The rickshaw pullers also chased passers-by with sticks when the bystanders tried to capture the incident on their cellphones.
Reels of the clashes went viral on cyberspace and social media as some enthusiastic onlookers managed to upload the developments unfolding there.
The situation escalated into multi-pronged conflicts as battery runners not only attacked their pedalled counterparts, but also bystanders on Banani Road-11 for they tried to document the demo.
Both Gulshan and Banani societies, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and Dhaka North City Corporation jointly kicked off a campaign against battery-run rickshaws since Saturday following complaints from local residents over traffic congestion and road safety issues.
Banani residents say some residents of the Karail slum joined Banani Society members and supported the pedal rickshaw pullers. The agitating battery-run rickshaw pullers blocked the road 11, according to eyewitnesses.
Under new restrictions, battery-run rickshaws are barred from operating on both main and inner roads in Gulshan-1, Gulshan-2 and Banani neighbourhoods.
Only registered pedalled rickshaws are currently allowed to operate in the areas.
Locals residents claimed battery-run rickshaws started plying main roads in Gulshan and Banani areas after a political changeover on 5 August 2024.