Simultaneous protests by mobile phone traders, students, and city corporation workers paralyzed the city on Sunday, halting traffic at key intersections and triggering violent clashes in the commercial heart of the city.
While police used water cannons, tear gas, and sound grenades to quell the traders’ unrest at Karwan Bazar, students blocked Farmgate demanding justice for a peer’s death, and cleanliness workers barricaded Mirpur-10 protesting extortion. The combined effect of these unrelated agitations plunged the capital into a day-long gridlock.
The most violent incidents occurred at the SAARC Fountain intersection in Karwan Bazar. Members of the Mobile Business Community Bangladesh (MBCB) began a sit-in at 10:30am to protest the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) system and the recent arrest of colleagues following an attack on Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) building.
Police initially baton-charged the group at 11:30am. When traders regrouped at noon, law enforcers escalated the response using water cannons and sound grenades. Several protesters were detained, and others were chased into the nearby Bashundhara City Shopping Mall.
Clashes later spread to the Hatirpool area between 1:30pm and 2:00pm, where police fired tear gas at traders attempting to march from Motalib Plaza.
The MBCB has declared an indefinite countrywide strike of mobile phone shops until their demands are met.
The National Equipment Identification Register (NEIR) system will remain suspended for the next three months, Masud Alam, deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Ramna Division), told reporters after a meeting with representatives of mobile phone traders on Sunday afternoon.
The meeting followed day-long demonstrations in the capital’s Karwan Bazar area, where traders staged sit-ins demanding the withdrawal and postponement of the NEIR system.
Earlier in the day, at least 20 mobile phone traders were injured and 12 were reportedly detained when police removed protesters from several key intersections in the capital using baton charges, water cannons, tear shells and sound grenades.
Meanwhile, Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb, special assistant to the chief adviser for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, said in the afternoon that the NEIR system would not be shut down, claiming that the demands of mobile phone shop traders had already been addressed.
“The government has reduced duties on legally imported mobile phones, yet the BTRC building was attacked, which was unjustified and against the law,” Taiyeb said after visiting the BTRC building.
On Friday, the MBCB called for an indefinite nationwide closure of all mobile phone shops. They also announced a gathering and sit-in programme in Dhaka, demanding the release of individuals arrested in connection with recent protests regarding the NEIR system and the attack on the BTRC building.
Simultaneously, hundreds of students from Tejgaon College gathered at the busy Farmgate intersection from 9:45am. They were demanding justice for Sakibul Hasan Rana, an 18-year-old student who died on December 10 from injuries sustained during a clash at the college hostel.
The blockade caused severe congestion on surrounding roads, leaving thousands of commuters stranded. After nearly three hours, the students withdrew the blockade.
In Mirpur-10, cleanliness workers from the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) blocked the roundabout at 11:00am, keeping garbage trucks on the streets. They were protesting alleged extortion by local gangs.
“Some youths regularly collect 200 to 300 taka from every garbage truck. If we refuse to pay, they intimidate us with weapons,” said Aminul, a worker leading the protest.
Traffic officials and the officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station mediated with the workers, who later marched to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office to submit their complaints.
Daytime unrest followed a blockade at Shahbagh intersection the previous night. Members of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement occupied the area from 10:30pm Saturday to 12:15am Sunday.
They withdrew after receiving assurances from the home affairs adviser regarding their demands, which include the unconditional release of Mahdi Hasan, a leader of the movement, and immunity for participants of the July mass uprising.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement president Rifat Rashid warned of tougher programs if an ordinance meeting their demands is not issued within 24 hours.
Later, Mahdi Hasan was granted bail on Sunday after appearing before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Habiganj.
