Dhaka – The second day of the 84-hour nationwide hartal, enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance, started Monday morning amid stray incidents of crude bomb blasts across the country.
The strike, enforced to pressure the Awami League-led government for arranging the next general elections under a non-party neutral government, will end at 6:00pm on Wednesday.
In the capital, a CNG-run auto- rickshaw was torched by some pickets in Rayerbagh area of Jatrabari at about 6:20am.
At least 18 crude bombs were blasted at Link Road of Badda, Mohakhali, Malibagh rail crossing, Mirpur-11, Kazipara and Mipur-1 in the first hours of the hartal.
Police recovered two live bombs from Mirpur-11 of the city at about 6:30am.
At about 7:00am, a group of activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal brought out a procession in support of the hartal in Bijoy Swarani area. Police dispersed the procession through a chase.
Educational institutions and shopping malls remained closed, but government and non-government offices in the capital remained open, though with thin attendance.
Rickshaws and auto-rickshaws plied the city streets in noticeable numbers during the shutdown while the number of motorised vehicles available was very little.
Huge law enforcers were on guard on the city streets to avoid any untoward incident.
Pickets blasted at least 15 crude bombs in front of Adarsha Samad High School, Officer’s Club and South Temuhni area of Luxmipur district town in the morning.
Activists of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami brought out processions and blocked roads in different areas of the town.
The shutdown programme was originally set for 72 hours from from Sunday to Wednesday, was extended by 12 hours to 6:00pm on Wednesday in protest against the arrest of senior BNP leaders.
The opposition alliance enforced two spells of 60-hour countrywide shutdown — October 27-29 and November 4-6–to press for the same demand. So far 20 people killed and over 8,000 people injured in hartal related clashes between law enforcers and activists across the country. – UNB
