The Election Commission on Thursday withdrew the ban on bike use by journalists during their election duty on December 30.
The EC withdrew the ban on motorcycles a week after imposing it amid criticisms from the journalist community. Motorcycles are the preferred mode of transport of reporters who often have to run on tight schedules.
Asadul Haq, EC’s deputy director (public relations), said journalists would have to display the commission’s approval stickers on their bikes.
“Journalists have already been provided with stickers and cards for covering the national election. They’ve to display the [EC’s] stickers on their motorcycles,” he said.
The authorities concerned banned the plying of all motor vehicles from December 29 midnight to December 30 midnight. The plying of motorcycles was restricted from December 28 midnight to January 1 midnight.The last directive caused concerns among journalists, since moving swiftly from one polling centre to another would have been very difficult without the two-wheelers.
source: UNB
