Savar, May 10 -- run autorickshaw pullers blocked the Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Savar on Saturday, demanding an end to alleged police harassment and extortion and calling for alternative employment if authorities bar them from operating on the roads.

"If the government does not allow us to drive auto-rickshaws, then it should also provide us with jobs so that we can support our families," several protesters said during the demonstration.

Hundreds of drivers gathered at Pakija More around noon and parked their rickshaws across the highway, disrupting traffic for nearly two hours and causing long tailbacks on both sides of the busy route.

The protesters alleged that despite restrictions on three-wheelers on highways, many are forced to ope...