Chittagong Police imposed a Section 144 ban on public gatherings in the city's Riazuddin Bazar area on Thursday in a bid to control furious clashes between businessmen and hawkers that left 30 people, including 12 policemen, injured.

Police were forced to fire over 200 rubber bullets, throw teargas shells and charge with batons to disperse the rioters.

Among the injured police were CMP deputy commissioner Bonoj Kumas Majumder, assistant commissioner Helal Uddin, and Kotoali police chief Mohiuddin Ahmed.

Witnesses said both sides locked in clashes over half a dozen times from 10am to 5pm.

Traffic piled up around a half kilometre radius of the Riazuddin Bazar area. The public, including schoolchildren and their guardians, suffered as traffic movement ground to a halt at New Market, Amtol and Station Road.

Both groups vandalised and set alight at least 10 hawkers' stalls in the Amtol and Station Road area. Both sides hurled brickbats and stones as police were trying to disperse them, Majumder said.

Seven platoons of police and RAB were deployed to bring the situation under control with teargas shells and rubber bullets, officials said.

The Section 144 ban on public assemblies was imposed from 6pm.

The day's violence had continued from clashes between hawkers and businessmen the previous night in which at least 20 people were injured. Scores of shops were also set alight in the Bazar area adjacent to Station Road on Wednesday night. In retaliation, local businessmen had set fire to over 200 hawkers' stalls from Amtol to New Market.

Police, businessmen and hawkers separately filed three separate cases on Thursday over Wednesday night's events.

Majumder told bdnews24.com that the fighting continued throughout Thursday even though all parties sat for several round of talks on the contentious issue of hawkers' stalls that the local businesses objected to.

Salamat Ali, president of Reazuddin Bazar Bonik Samity, told bdnews24.com the businessmen would continue their movement unless hawkers removed their stalls from footpaths, He also claimed 12-15 businessmen were attacked by hawkers.

Chittagong Metropolitan Combined Hawkers Federation general secretary Masud Rana said businessmen had attacked them and set their shops on fire. He said they could mobilise 20,000 hawkers to resist the businessmen if forced.

"We cannot just leave the footpaths on someone's whim," he said, adding that they would not leave unless they were resettled.

Rana also said they would announce a programme on Friday morning at a press conference.

Source: bdnews24.com

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