It has been little over 100 days since the interim government took office following the July- August student and people uprising.
However, during this time, people from different sectors — students, teachers, workers, employees, and lastly the battery-run rickshaw drivers — have been blocking roads and staging protests to press home their demands.
Dhaka, according to World Bank data, a city with an estimated population of 21 million, is officially considered the slowest city in the world.
Only the residents of Dhaka understand the untold sufferings that arise when roads are blocked for hours in such a densely populated city.
An example of this city chaos occurred on Thursday when thousands of battery-run rickshaw drivers blocked roads and rail lines at different points in the capital causing immense sufferings to the commuters.
Even rail communications between Dhaka and other parts of the country remain suspended for several hours.
Besides, they blocked the roads at Mohakhali, Mirpur, Agargaon, Khilgaon, Demra and several other places since yesterday morning.
Reportedly, the drivers started their protests on Wednesday after the High Court, on Tuesday, directed the government to take necessary measures to stop the plying of battery-run rickshaws and auto-rickshaws in Dhaka within three days.
According to media reports, a similar situation also happened on Monday when students from Government Titumir College blocked roads and railways, demanding the institution’s upgrade to a university.
This sort of practice of holding protests and making demands by blocking roads has been entrenched in the country for a long time.
In a democratic society, it is natural for different groups to voice their grievances. However, these demands should be expressed in a formal and legal manner.
Unfortunately, what we are witnessing is the opposite — emotion seems to take precedence over reason. Simultaneously, other groups of protesters also used to block different city roads over their various demands.
It is true that during the last 15 and a half years of authoritarian rule under the deposed Hasina government, significant discrimination and deprivation built up among different sections of society.
But does this justify everyone taking to the streets and halting traffic? Everyone should keep in mind that the most effective way to resolve any issue is through dialogue.
The government must also take decisive steps to alleviate public sufferings and ensure that such disruptions are minimized.
