2nd-day hartal underway without major incidents
7,000 security personnel deployed in city installations and strategic points
AL slaps 2-day nationwide hartal protesting attempt on Hasina
Opposition workers set UNO office on fire in Narsingdi
Shop owners extends support to AL called hartal
Bangladesh braces for more violence as protest strike begins
Attack on opposition pre-hartal procession in city: 25 injured
Arson, disruption in rail, road and air traffic and scattered violence across the country marked the first day of the two-day hartal called by opposition Awami League.
Left leaning 11-party alliance and JSD (Inu) also gave the call for identical dawn-to-dusk shutdown to protest Saturday’s bomb attack on Sheikh Hasina’s anti-terrorism rally that left 20 people killed and 300 others injured.
However, 24 hours of hartal spread over two days have been curtailed by five hours on the second day, Wednesday, to allow the public to attend the namaj-e-janaza and burial of AL leader Ivy Rahman, who died early Tuesday.
“We’ve discussed the matter among ourselves and taken the decision to shorten the hartal hours,” Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil told UNB.
He said the shutdown would end at 1 pm tomorrow (Wednesday) as namaj-e-janaza for Begum Ivy Rahman would be held after Asr prayer tomorrow at Baitul Mukarram national mosque.
Angry opposition workers attacked and set fire to the Sadar UNO office in Narsingdi district during early hours of hartal today. They also attacked and set ablaze the district Jubo Dal office in the town.
Normal life and businesses came almost to a standstill following hartal across the country.
In capital Dhaka, all modes of transport were off the road except few rickshaws, mini-buses and auto-rickshaws.
Witnesses said protestors fought with riot police at different points in the capital, leaving at least 20 people, including CPB general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim and AL lawmaker Sohel Taj, injured. The law enforcers picked up over 50 people during the dawn-to-dusk shutdown.
Chase and counter chase took place between police and the pro-hartal pickets around Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi Road-32. Some AL lawmakers were seen protecting their supporters from police action and forcibly brought back some of the workers arrested by police.
Around 7,000 police, armed battalion and paramilitary BDR were posted at important installations and strategic points to maintain law and order in the tense city witnessing violent protests for the last four days since the grenade attack seen as an attempt on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Shops, business houses and shopping malls kept their shutters down while schools, colleges, universities and most private offices were closed.
Witnesses said the CPB leaders and workers brought out a procession from the party office at Purana Paltan, but police foiled their procession by resorting to baton charge.
Police engaged in clashes with opposition activists twice at Mirpur-10 and fired two rounds of tear shell canisters as the angry workers threw brickbats and resorted to widespread damage to vehicles in Mirpur and Pallabi areas.
The law enforcers picked up seven opposition activists from Mirpur area.
In Malibagh crossing area, some pro-hartal activists threw brickbats towards a bus at about 10:30 am leaving at least one injured seriously. Injured Yunus, a tax office employee, was admitted to the DMCH.
Two young bus passengers -– Bellal in Fakirerpul area and Ripon in Sayedabad area -- were injured critically in the morning as pro-hartal activists threw brickbats targeting the buses.
Train service in the country’s western zone, including Dhaka-Chittagong route, came to a halt in the face of violent picketing by opposition activists during the hartal.
The authorities also stopped train services on different routes for security reasons.
“We stopped the trains on Dhaka-Chittagong route at various stations because of security reasons,” Mostafa-e-Zamil, Director (PR) of Bangladesh Railway, told UNB at 12:13 pm today.
Pickets dragged out staff from Rajshahi control room, Rajbari station and Abdulpur junction at Iswardi. They also damaged the Rajshahi control room.
Chittagong-bound Mahanagar Prabhati from Dhaka was halted at Brahmanbaria station at 10:15 am while Dhaka-bound Mahanagar Prabhati stopped at Comilla station at 10 am. Dhaka-bound Upakul Express from Noakhali also halted at Comilla station at 9:15 am.
Besides, two container trains bound for Chittagong were halted at Akhaura station from 9:50 am.
Pickets obstructed the movement of a number of inter-city and local trains in the railway’s western zone from Tuesday morning.
Inter-city Kanchan express faced obstruction at Parbatipur at 8 am. A local train that left Rangpur was stopped at Bonarpara in Gaibandha at 7 am while another at Bamundanga station at 8:45 am.
Barind Inter-city was halted by pickets at Parbatipur on Nilphamari-Rajshahi route at 8:25 am while Rupsha Inter-city obstructed at 8:15 am at Bilaichandi on Sayedpur-Khulna route.
Unruly people also stopped inter-city Titumir at Arani station on Rajshai-Chilahati route while Silk City Express at Nandangachhi on Rajshahi-Dhaka route at 7:30 am.
Some flights operated by the private GMG Airlines in the domestic routes were rescheduled.
Biman sources, however, said that all their international and domestic flights operated normally.
No inter-district bus left the terminals, nor reached Dhaka from outside. Launch and steamers were anchored at Sadarghat terminals.
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