The third day of the 84-hour countrywide shutdown, enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance, passed off on Tuesday amid stray incidents
of blasts, vandalism, arrest and clashes at different parts of the country, leaving one dead in Pabna.The non-stop shutdown, enforced to press the current regime for arranging the next general election under a non-party administration,
will end at 6:00pm on Wednesday.
In Pabna, Asadul Islam, 28, son of late Azizul Haque of Muladuli Bazar area and a Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal activist, drowned in a ditch as he
jumped into it reportedly after being chased by police while picketing in Iswardi upazila early Tuesday.
According to reports reaching the UNB news desk, over 100 vehicles were damaged, 120 crude bombs blasted and around 90 people, including
seven police, injured across the country. The law enforcers also arrested over 80 opposition activists during the hartal hours.
Incidents of chase and counter-chase between police and hartal supporters, stray incidents of crude bomb blast, vandalism vehicles,
arson attack were reported from different parts of the city, including Baridhara, Mirpur, Paltan, Jatrabari, Madhya Badda, Malibagh
Rail Gate, Chowdhurypara, Mohakhali and Gabtoli.
Educational institutions and most shopping malls remained closed, but government and non-government offices in the capital were open with
thin attendance.
Rickshaws and auto-rickshaws dominated the city streets in the morning but plying of motorised vehicles increased significantly in the
afternoon.
However, no long-route bus left Mohakhali, Saydabad and Gabtoli terminals since morning fearing vandalism.
Like all other hartal days, huge law enforcers guarded the city streets to avoid any untoward incident.
Violent incidents like vandalising and torching of vehicles, clashes between hartal pickets and police and ruling party activists, arrest
of opposition leaders and activists and crude bomb blasts were also reported from a number of districts, including Gazipur, Chittagong,
Laxmipur, Sylhet, Bogra, Satkhira, Sherpur, Sunamganj, Barisal, Pabna, Jhenidah and Bagerhat.
Home Ministry sources said at least 12 vehicles were burned down and damaged. 31 crude bombs exploded during the shutdown across the
country.
The second day of the 84-hour nationwide hartal was also marked by a stray incidents of crude bomb blasts, vandalism of vehicles, clashes
and arson attacks across the country Monday while the first day of the hartal was marked by the killing of a man in Chittagong, stray
incidents of crude bomb explosion, arson attack, vandalism of vehicles, clashes and arrest of opposition activists on Sunday.
The shutdown programme was originally scheduled for 72 hours from 6:00am on Sunday to 6:00am on Wednesday but it was later extended by
12 hours to 6:00 pm on Wednesday in protest against the arrest of senior BNP leaders.
Earlier, the opposition alliance enforced two back-to-back 60-hour countrywide shutdowns — October 27-29 and November 4-6 — to press for
the same demand, which left 20 people killed and over 8,000 people injured across the country.
All types of vehicles engaged in providing medical services, ambulances, media vehicles and medicine and food shops were out of the
hartal purview. -UNB
