Traders clash with police over closure of Gulshan Shopping Centre

Staff Reporter  :
Hundreds of traders and shop owners took to the street and staged a demonstration blocking the busy Gulshan road in the capital on Thursday noon in protest against the sealing off of Gulshan Shopping Centre by Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) .

The blockade halted traffic movement in the area causing huge tailback and sufferings to commuters.
Mostafizur Rahman, assistant commissioner of Gulshan’s Traffic Division confirmed the matter to the media and said that huge number of policemen have been deployed in the area to bring the situation under control and to ease traffic movement.

“The protesters also vandalised a few vehicles after police tried to disperse them from the road around 3:45pm, AC added.
Meanwhile, vehicular movement in the area resumed after a few hours as the police had been able to remove the agitating traders from the street. One constable was injured in the incident as the traders pelted brickbats at the law enforcers.

Earlier, Dhaka North City Corporation representatives sealed off the shopping center around 12pm, mentioning it as hazardous and risky one.
DNCC representatives faced strong resistance from traders at that time. Later, they staged a demonstration blocking the busy Gulshan road.
bdnews24.com adds: Traders protesting the closure of the ‘at risk’ Gulshan Shopping Centre have clashed with police as they blocked the Gulshan-1 intersection in Dhaka.
An executive magistrate from the Dhaka North City Corporation went to the complex and sealed it around 11:30 am on Thursday. The traders then took to the streets in protest. At one point, they blocked the Gulshan-1 intersection with cement blocks, interrupting traffic on the thoroughfare and leading to congestion on all sides of the intersection.