Protest in Karwan Bazar against decision to block unauthorised mobiles

Mobile phone traders and their employees staged a protest at the SAARC Fountain intersection in the capital on Sunday against the government’s decision to disable unauthorised mobile phones from December 16.

Traffic in the surrounding area was disrupted after the protesters blocked the road.

Several hundred traders and workers gathered near Karwan Bazar around 1pm before marching in a procession that moved through Banglamotor and Karwan Bazar.

The protesters said that doing business in the current situation has become “impossible”, prompting them to take to the streets. They warned that they would organise a major rally in Dhaka with participation of mobile phone traders from across the country if their demands were not met.

Meanwhile, protesting the decision to enforce the National Equipment Identity Register NEIR from December 16, many mobile phone shops in Dhaka and several other districts remained closed today.