After the Sunday morning to Tuesday morning countrywide blockade, another 48-hour road, rail, and waterways blockade called by the opposition is underway in Bangladesh today. The blockade is enforced by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jamaat, and like-minded other parties to mount pressure on the government to step down and hold the next election under a non-partisan administration. The blockade started at 6 a.m. today and will end at 6 a.m. on Friday.
The number of vehicles on the street today in Dhaka is more compared to the two previous blockades. Office-goers, students, and other commuters were seen going to their destinations.
Miscreants set a bus on fire in the capital’s Malibagh area on Tuesday night, ahead of the countrywide blockade. Stray incidents of violence and torching of vehicles occurred in other parts of the country too.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the program at a virtual press briefing on Monday evening.
Miscreants set a bus on fire in the capital’s Malibagh area on Tuesday night, ahead of the countrywide blockade. Stray incidents of violence and torching of vehicles occurred in other parts of the country too.
The fresh agitation was announced on the last day of the opposition’s 48-hour nationwide blockade which has been marked by widespread incidents of violence, including clashes with police and torching and vandalizing vehicles.
The persistent anti-government political programs enforced by the opposition have cast a shadow over day to day life of people.
Earlier in the last week, the opposition’s three-day countrywide blockade passed off amid clashes and widespread incidents of torching and vandalizing vehicles, leaving four people dead and over three dozen vehicles either torched or vandalized, reports UNB.
They also observed a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on Sunday in protest against the attacks on BNP’s grand rally at Nayapaltan that ended amid the incidents of torching vehicles and clashes, leaving three people dead.
A heavy presence of law enforcement agencies was seen patrolling on roads and important public buildings. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members are patrolling various roads and highways to keep the industrial environment normal. A total of 228 platoons of BGB have been deployed across the country to help law enforcers, said PRO, BGB.
Navalsang Parmar (Dhaka)
