A major traffic artery in the capital ground to a complete standstill on Thursday afternoon as transport owners and workers laid siege to the busy road outside the Mohakhali Bus Terminal. The spontaneous blockade was triggered by a police drive against illegally parked buses, leading to widespread disruption that quickly rippled across surrounding neighbourhoods.
Demonstrations began in the late afternoon when anger over the ongoing traffic enforcement boiled over. Transport workers parked several long-route buses diagonally across both sides of the thoroughfare, creating an impromptu barricade. Within minutes, traffic ground to a halt along the crucial artery connecting central Dhaka with the northern districts, locking thousands of commuters into hours of gridlock.
The knock-on effect was swift and severe. Gridlock rapidly spilled into nearby districts, including Gulshan, Banani, Tejgaon, and Satrasta. Passengers attempting to navigate the evening rush hour found themselves stranded in motionless vehicles or forced to alight and continue their journeys on foot.
Sergeant Belal Hossain, a traffic officer stationed at the scene, confirmed that workers had completely sealed off both directions of the carriage, paralyzing mobility across the entire zone. Mahbubur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of Tejgaon Industrial Zone Police Station, stated that law enforcement agencies were actively negotiating with the protesting transport workers to clear the obstruction and restore order to the capital’s transport network.
The flashpoint follows a recent municipal initiative aimed at relocating idle and out-of-service buses from overcrowded hubs in Mohakhali to an alternative site in Purbachal. The policy has sparked intense friction between law enforcement and transport associations. Striking drivers voiced deep resentment over what they perceive as aggressive policing, alleging that officers routinely dump vehicles and levy steep wrecking fines for minor infractions outside the terminal premises.
Protesters also raised grave security concerns regarding the designated relocation site in Purbachal, alleging that the area lacks basic perimeter security and oversight. Drivers reported incidents of theft, claiming essential vehicle components, including batteries, had been stolen from parked buses overnight. Protesting workers chanted slogans calling for an immediate end to police harassment, the removal of punitive fines, and the resignation of a senior police official. As night fell, transport leaders maintained that the blockade would remain until municipal authorities addressed their grievances.
