Rickshaw ban put on hold
Staff Correspondent
The decision to ban rickshaws on six major roads from yesterday has been put on hold as Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) now wants to discuss it with the rickshawpullers and passengers.It will also conduct a survey to judge public opinion in support of the move, said DTCB officials. According to the government decision, the road stretching from Science Laboratory through Elephant Road, Shahbagh and National Press Club to College Road next to Bangabazar was supposed to become off-limits to rickshaws from December in the first phase. In the second phase, the stretch from Russell Square to Azimpur via New Market was supposed to go off-limits. "As banning rickshaws on these roads will affect the poor, we will conduct a survey before taking the final decision," said a DTCB official. Earlier, rickshaws were banned on the Mirpur Road between Gabtali and Russell Square on December 20 last year. Meanwhile, different rickshaw owners' and pullers' associations protested the government move to make roads off-limits to rickshaws and threatened to wage a movement unless the decision was rescinded. A group called Committee to Resist Rickshaw Eviction (CRRE) brought out a procession from Nilkhet to protest the planned rickshaw ban and marched through to Shahbagh.
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