Mobile phone traders stage protest near BTRC

Mobile phone traders have blocked the road in front of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission office in the city’s Agargaon on Sunday demanding reforms to the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) system and unrestricted access to mobile phone imports.

Under the banner of ‘Mobile Business Community Bangladesh,’ the traders were taking position on the road adjacent to BTRC building around 10AM, halting traffic on one side of the Shyamoli-Agargaon route.

According to the association, the implementation of NEIR will negatively impact hundreds of thousands of traders and their families.

They allege the new system will primarily benefit a “special group,” while increased taxes and regulations will raise mobile phone prices for consumers.

Long tailbacks were created at the Shishumela intersection, Shyamoli’s Mirpur Road and parts of Agargaon and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar due to the blockade.

Vehicle movement from Shishumela towards Agargaon remained suspended as the traders occupied the road, said Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station OC Monirul Islam.