Dhaka – The first day of the fresh 72-hour nationwide road-rail-waterway blockade, enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance, was marked by stray incidents of violence at different parts of the country on Tuesday, leaving two people dead in Satkhira and Sirajganj.
The fourth spell of the protest programme began at 6am Tuesday and it will end at 6am on Friday if it is not extended further like the previous three spells.
In Satkhira, a local Awami League leader, Moslem Ali, 65, also a human rights activist, was hacked to death allegedly by activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir at Bishnupur in Kaliganj upazila in the afternoon.
In Sirajganj, a college principal was killed as a bus he was travelling in overturned being chased by blockaders at Talgachhi on Bogra-Nagarbari highway in Shahjadpur upazila on the first day of the opposition-enforced road-rail-waterway blockade on Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Zahurul Haque, 40, the principal of Dadpur GR College in Salanga upazila and son of Altab Hossain of Raghunathpur in Raiganj upazila of the district.
In the capital, blockaders set fire to the local office of Bangladesh Chhatra League, student wing of the ruling Awami League, at Mirpur 14 in the morning.
On the other hand, activists of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal brought out a procession in Tejgaon area in support of the blockade in the morning. Later, police dispersed it.
Vehicular movement in the city streets was almost normal while law enforcers were guarding the key points to fend off any untoward situation centring on the blockade.
The extent of violence was less on Tuesday than that in other blockades.
Stray incidents of violence were reported from several districts, including Pabna, Manikganj, Dinajpur, Sylhet and Sirajganj, where some vehicles were damaged and several crude bombs blasted.
Meanwhile, train communications of Dinajpur with the rest of the country remained suspended for three hours from noon as pickets blocked rail racks at Nimnagar Bus Stand area near Dinajpur Railway Station.
The opposition combine has already enforced 346 hours of road-rail-waterway blockade across the country in three spells — 71-hour, 131-hour and 144-hour ones — after the announcement of the election schedule for the 10th parliamentary elections that left at least 75 people dead.
On November 25, the Chief Election Commissioner announced that the 10th parliamentary elections will be held on January 5 next. – UNB
