Dhaka's rail link with Narayanganj, Khulna, Rajshahi halted

The train services between Dhaka and and Narayanganj, Khulna and Rajshahi have come to a halt as battery-run auto-rickshaw drivers blocked railway track in the capital's Jurain.

Anwar Hossain, the station master at Kamalapur Railway Station, said: "Train services between Dhaka and Narayanganj, Khulna and Rajshahi is in complete halt due to the railway blockade."

He said the train operations on the Padma Bridge route will not resume until the law enforcement agencies give a green signal.

Earlier in the day, the drivers blocked the railway crossing in the capital's Jurain from 11am to 1:30pm.

They staged the blockade to protest an impending ban on battery-run rickshaws, in line with a High Court order, and demanding permission to operate on the roads.

Nazmun Nahar, duty officer at Shyampur police station, said police charged baton and fired teargas shells to disperse the protesters.

Locals claimed that local BNP activists chased the protesting drivers around 2pm.

Earlier on Thursday, drivers if the battery-run rickshaws staged a road blockade and demonstrated in four locations in the capital for six-seven hours.

Later, they called off their programme with a 48-hour ultimatum.